Black and White
by Peppermint and Nightshade
Summary: A certain phantom thief steals precious jewels under the moonlight. He always anticipates the appearance (read:interference) of a little female detective, Christi Edogawa. When she disappears and is replaced with someone who looks too much like her, how is Kaitou KID supposed to react? It looks like this is one gem not even the phantom thief can steal. Fem! Shinichi x Kaitou
1. Let's Take It From The Top

**A/N: This is a revision of a chapter I uploaded in my account in Wattpad. I think I'll update it here instead; there's not that great reception back there (or maybe it's just not good enough? I got only three views. Figures.).**

 **This first chapter is the aftermath of Kaitou Kid's most recent heist, with a few flashbacks of the actual heist. Enjoy!**

"Tantei-kun~!" A thief clad in white cried gleefully from his perch on the top of the narrow pole. "I'm really glad you could make it! All these old geezers get knocked out too easily," he said, gesturing at the task force he had disabled with sleeping gas.

The little girl ripped the gas mask off her face and smirked. Kid shivered inwardly in spite of himself as intelligent blue eyes seemed to bore into his soul. That smile and those eyes _definitely_ did not belong on a child's face. Putting on his usual poker face, he smiled back.

"Looks like you missed me, KID." Christi's hand inched towards the switch on her belt. "It'd be nice if you gave me a present, like, say, that _Lady's Rogue you're holding right now._ " She emphasized the last few words, trying to keep the thief preoccupied.

KID turned his back to her and held the sparkling red gem to the moonlight. "Sure, why not? It isn't what I was looking for anyway." He tossed the gem over his shoulder. A little parachute poofed into existence and allowed the gem to drop slowly to the ground.

 _Now,_ Christi thought, _while he's still distracted!_

She aimed, and then fired.

The black and white projectile passed clean over the thief's head as he dodged with incredible grace at the last second, no doubt showing off. He spun to meet her blue eyes filled with frustration with his own violet ones brimming with triumph. "Looks like you missed me, too, Tantei-kun."

A smoke bomb later, KID had disappeared. Hs signature hang glider took off, visible from the glass roof of the museum. In the distance, the soccer ball Christie had kicked bounced off a marble post and deflated.

"Tsk." Christi furrowed her brow and picked up the red stone. To the task force that had just awoken from their slumber, the little female detective seemed defeated. But the magician who had disguised himself as a police officer saw the smile tugging at Christi's lips. He pulled his cap lower and walked away, whistling a tune.

" _You had fun tonight, too, didn't you?"_

"What's wrong, Kudo? You look happier than usual."

Christi eyed the strawberry-haired girl. "Is it so wrong that I'm happy?"

Haibara refused eye contact. "It is when you're smiling over your handsome white-clad phantom thief, KID."

It was two days after KID's most recent heist. Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko were walking gaily along to school, the two shrunken teens trailing behind them.

"You little... it's not like that, Haibara." Christi glared as Haibara snickered behind her hand. "I'm serious, I wasn't even thinking about him!"

 _I was thinking about how stupid Hakuba looked..._

"Sure, sure. I bet you were grinning over Ran again, then, am I right?"

Haibara smirked as Christi flushed and shoved her. "I am not le-!"

"Christi-chan! You're bullying Ai-chan again!" Ayumi suddenly appeared in front of them, her face scolding.

"Hey! I'm not the one bullying-" Christi bit her lip and sighed. She was never going to win in _that_ argument. "I'm sorry, Haibara, Ayumi-chan. Can we please go now, _without incident_?"

Haibara turned her nose up. "Of course, Edogawa-chan."

Christi grumbled something about incessant scientists and hurried after the group.

The teacher in class 3-C glanced nervously at the wild haired teen looking out the window. Kaito Kuroba was smiling and humming _._ That was definitely not a good sign. Usually that meant that the magician-in-training had a prank in mind for that certain class in Ekoda High School.

Hakuba glared at him from behind. His hair was still pinkish, the result of Kid's 'magic show' two nights ago.

His classmates were right in thinking that pranks were on the magician's mind. He just wasn't thinking of pranking them. He was still thinking of pranks, and a certain magic show he had pulled at his most recent heist. He did it just for that little detective, Christi Edogawa. She hadn't been attending his heists lately, and frankly, he had gotten a little bored, and maybe a little worried, too. He was genuinely delighted when she finally showed up (but she didn't need to know that) and was finally able to put on a great show for the detective.

His eyes flickered over to the chalkboard. The teacher standing in front flinched and continued teaching with a noticeably shakier voice. Kaito wasn't looking at the writings on the board, though. His mind was elsewhere, thinking back to his show a few nights ago.

 _Tantei-kun was a girl, wasn't she? What else would a girl like better if not glitter, pink, and perfume?_

 _These thoughts ran through Kaito's head as he surveyed the scene of his next heist, checking to see if everything was in place. Tonight, he had chosen a nice museum with an obvious exit point: a glass roof. It also had marble posts everywhere, perfect for a large-scale prank (magic show). The jewel he wanted was called 'Lady's Rogue', an enormous garnet cut in a perfect circle. The crowd was cordoned 10 feet from the jewel, while the jewel itself was guarded by a dense crowd of police._

 _A few more minutes till the appointed time, and he still hadn't spotted the little girl... His eyes lit up. There! He found her! She was standing next to Inspector Nakamori and some guy with a hoodie, near the jewel. She was wearing those cursed gadgets again, the belt that conjured soccer balls that always try to kill him, those red sneakers that seemed to amplify her kicking power, and her damned watch. The watch was especially annoying. (Once, she shot off a tranquillizer dart at him, and it accidentally pricked his butt. He didn't notice it, though, till he got back home and sat down heavily on a sofa. He passed out immediately after that and woke with a crick in his neck.)_

 _"1 minute and 45.32 seconds left."_

 _Ah, god. That annoying British prick was here. The guy in the hoodie turned around to reveal Saguru Hakuba. Why was he here? Kid was fine with just Christi. She was challenging enough on her own. Well, no matter. He had a prank just for Hakuba anyway._

 _"Hey, Hakuba-niichan, are you going to help catch Kid tonight?" Kid craned his neck to see Christi speaking with his blond classmate._

 _Hakuba squatted to be level with the mini-detective. "Why, in fact I will. I suppose you will lend me a hand, too, little detective?" He ruffled the girl's hair._

 _"Sure!" Christi chirped, smiling that innocent little smile of hers. But instant Hakuba turned his back, her eyes narrowed and she lost the smile. Blue eyes scanned the crowd of Kid fans. All of a sudden, blue met violet, like someone had whispered in Christi's ear_ exactly _where she could find the elusive phantom thief. Kid was paralyzed for two seconds, before he shook himself out of his daze and put on a poker face. It looks like he'll have to be a little early today._

 _The moment the detective turned to alert the blond Brit, Kid melted into the shadows._

 _Approximately forty-five seconds later, the lights went out._

 _"Ladies and gentlemen~!" Kid's voice resonated throughout the room. "I bring you- Kaitou KID!"_

 _The crowd exploded into cheers. Inspector Nakamori exploded at his taskforce, shouting at them to turn the lights back on. The museum was once again flooded with lights. Then the room exploded with glue, glitter, and neon pink paint._

 _Good times._

 _Hakuba looked down and yelped. For some reason, he was wearing a nice frilly pink dress that came up to his knees, hot pink pumps, silicone breasts, and a freshly dyed mop of pink hair. Christi seemed to be untouched, something Kid had still to ponder over. She was snickering at Hakuba, who blushed furiously, which just caused the little detective to chortle even louder. Everyone else in the room was coated with glitter and paint (well, not that the fans minded)._

 _Kid descended from the ceiling in a burst of light pink smoke and seemed to hover in the air. "Hello, my dear detectives. I thought you girls might like some pink." He conjured a pink rose out of nowhere and let it slip through his fingers so that it fell at Christi's feet._

 _"Girls?!" Hakuba sputtered, then glared when someone in the taskforce guffawed._

 _"Never mind that, what about the jewel?" Christi's head snapped to look at the pedestal, then stared daggers at KID out of the corner of her eye. "How did you manage to steal something_ and _dress Hakuba...niichan with the cover of only ten seconds of darkness?"_

 _KID smirked and pulled out the Lady's Rogue. "I'm a magician, remember?"_

 _Christi shook her head in disbelief. "And pink? What's with this color scheme?"_

 _KID pouted. "Oh? I thought you liked pink, Tantei-kun?"_

 _Christi gritted her teeth. "No, I hate pink. Sure, it's hilarious when Hakuba-niichan wears it, but I highly prefer red."_

 _"What?!" Hakuba stared in shock at the seven year old. Christi pointedly ignored him and faced the thief properly._

 _"Aw, you should've said that before!" KID whined, while mentally taking note. He held out the Lady's Rogue so that Christi could see it. "This one's a beautiful shade of red."_

 _His fans cheered at the sight of the precious stone. Hakuba cussed (and within the hearing range of a child, too, Kid thought indignantly), and Inspector Nakamori yelled at his pink-ified subordinates._

 _"It's getting quite a bit noisy here, isn't it? I still have one last pink thing, Tantei-kun. Perfume." Kid reached into his sleeve and dropped the perfume bottle filled with sleeping gas. It exploded, and all was silent. "Good-night, Tantei-kun," he crooned before straightening up on the narrow metal pole he had cleverly concealed._

 _"Unfortunately for you, Kid, I don't like going to sleep early."_

 _"Tantei-kun~!"_

Kaito snickered. His classmates jumped and exchanged glances as Aoko Nakamori reached out and grabbed the magician's cheek.

"Kaito! Stop day dreaming and concentrate on the lesson!"

 _I wonder if Tantei-kun understood the message._

Kaito snaped out of his reverie and clutched at his smarting cheek. "Ow! Ahoko, that hurts, you know!"

Flushing at the nickname, Aoko stood abruptly. "Y-yeah? Well then that's good! You've made other people hurt too, you know! Look at Hakuba-kun's hair! I bet you did that this morning, didn't you, Bakaito!"

 _I suppose that's just wishful thinking._

Hakuba flinched. He was sure his hair wasn't that obvious because no one had laughed at him. But now half of the eyes in the class were trained on him while the other half was watching the argument between the two childhood friends like it was a tennis show. The teacher tried to calm down the two teenagers, but they paid her no attention.

"What? I never did that to that British pr-to him!" Kaito lied.

"You're always bullying Hakuba, or pranking the class!"

 _She probably wasn't even looking for it._

Kaito blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It has to do with everything, Bakaito!" Aoko fired back. Kaito watched as her eyes darted to the wallclock.

 _Why am I so obsessed with that little detective, anyway?_

"What are you up to now, you stupid girl?"

The bell rang.

Kaito snickered as the teacher looked devastatingly at the unfinished lesson. Some students cheered and left the classroom, while others stayed behind to gawk over the fight.

"I knew it, Aoko! You were just waiting for the bell to ring!"

Aoko turned her head. "I- I did nothing like that!"

 _No, wait, 'obsessed' can't be right. I'm just... really intrigued by that girl._

Kaito grabbed his school bag and casually flipped Aoko's skirt as he passed by her. "Sure, sure."

Turning red with embarrassment and anger, Aoko grabbed her mop (which came out of absolutely nowhere: Kaito swore that Aoko must secretly be some sort of magician) and brought it down on her friend's head. He dodged easily, and smirked as the chase began.

 _Yes, that must be right. She's just a child after all, yet she speaks and acts like she's way older than her seven years. I wonder why?_

Little arguments like this really helped take his mind off things.

Kobayashi-sensei glanced worriedly at one of her star pupils, Christi Edogawa. She hadn't been listening to the lesson like she normally did (she actually never listened), and had been staring at her notebook with the strangest look on her face. The concerned teacher made up her mind to speak with Christi later.

"Edogawa-chan, what do you think you're doing?" Haibara hissed in her ear. "I know you never really do listen to the lessons, but you're making it obvious this time!"

The girl didn't answer.

"Edogawa-chan."

Haibara glanced down and noticed that Christi was staring hard at her phone. On the screen was a picture of Kid's note for the heist from two nights ago.

An idea popped into Haibara's head. "My, my, Edogawa-chan, I didn't realize you were that obsessed with the Magician under the Moonlight."

Christi slammed her hands down on her table. Everyone in the room looked at her. "Haibara, will you shut the heck-!"

"Christi-chan! Watch your language!" Kobayashi-sensei admonished, terribly surprised. "You aren't supposed to know words like that!"

Christi blinked as if coming out of a daze and mentally berated herself. She slapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes darting nervously around the room.

Her young classmates looked back at her, eyes widening. To them, Christi was a sweet girl, with a bit of a tomboyish side, and as far as they knew, she had the same vocabulary as they did. Apparently, her vocabulary had a bit of a...colorful side.

Christi glanced at Haibara, who smirked, then she ran out of the room.

"Christi-chan, Kobayashi-sensei called and asked if I could meet up with her, regarding _you_. What did you do this time?" Ran put her hands on her hips.

"I, um, nothing?" Christi offered. She was at the small coffee table in Kogoro's office, doing her homework.

"Christi Edogawa, you will be in big trouble if you don't tell me what you did!" Ran threatened, clenching her fist.

 _Eek,_ Christi thought. "All right, all right," she said, giving in. "I swore in class."

"You what?!" Ran exclaimed, making the exact same expression Kobayashi-sensei had. "What did you say?!"

Christi flinched and fiddled with her fingers. "The... the h-word."

"Where did you learn such words from?"

Kogoro peeped over his newspaper. "That might have been my fault."

"Dad, why would you curse in front of a child?" Ran's attention was turned immediately to the mustached detective.

"Hey, I can't help it sometimes!"

As their voices faded to the back of her head, Christi turned her attention back to her homework. Underneath first-grade math worksheets was an entire paper filled with scribbles. Christi had felt something strange about Kid's recent heist note, and was determined to figure out what it was. So far, she had down a few scattered letters, but that was it. She was sure that there wasn't anything else, but the message was incomplete, so there just _had_ to be something special to the note.

She looked at the paper. The English letters I, T, D, S, and P were circled. So far, the words she was able to form were four letter words, which meant that there was one letter always left over. "SPIT" was one of them, and it was even missing the "D". "DIPS" was also possible, but it left the "T". There were several others, but none of them used all five letters. She had also considered the possibility that each letter was the first letter of another word, or even the last, but it was too vague. She tried several cryptograms but came up with gibberish.

Christi decided to turn in for the day. Her head was starting to hurt.

Kaito tossed a yellow rubber ball in the air and caught it as it came back down. Lying on his bed, he stared at the happy face drawn on the ball. "If only I could be as happy as this..."

He stood up to head down to the kitchen, but paused at the doorway and turned around instead, to the enormous picture of his dad, Toichi Kuroba.

"Dad, when will I ever be able to avenge you? The Lady's Rogue wasn't it, either."

He pushed the picture and slipped into the secret room (or the 'KID Cave' as he liked to call it), and continued thinking aloud.

"I've done a fair amount of research, and I've gone to so many measures just to steal the wrong gem all over, and over, and over again. When will I find it?"

In the confines of his secret cage, the dove sobbed silently, breaking his prized poker face.

 **A/N: Hello, hello! Peppermint and Nightshade here. This is my first fanfic here, so please go a little easy on me! I already have a general plot and story line in mind, but I'd appreciate any requests! Reviews are also welcome. I'd like to improve in any way possible!**

 **-Spicy and Poisonous**

 **P.S: I just revised this! Some reviews came in about my misuse of honorifics, and I apologize. I altered a few things! Thanks to all those who noticed!**


	2. I'm Not A Crybaby

**A/N: In the end, I decided to change some of the honorifics. I'm really fickle, right? Anyway, back to the story. I also apologize for the suuuper late update, but bear with me. I have a great excuse. Let me just pick one.**

 **-Spicy and Poisonous**

* * *

Christi sighed inwardly. She had already covertly spent two nights up trying to crack Kid's code. She tried several things, and had even looked into his other heist notes, but to no avail. Either the code was too difficult for her, something which she wouldn't accept, or there wasn't any code in the first place. The latter option was more probable, and more acceptable. The signs of her near all-nighters were beginning to show in her body language and general performance, so Haibara had admonished her for staying up too late. Christi had given up on trying to figure out the code and decided to sleep early that night. (In spite of that, she still occasionally scribbled something down on the notebook she reserved just for Kid.)

Christi stared sullenly at the mid-afternoon sky from the backseat of the taxi she and the Mouri family were riding in. Sonoko had invited Ran, Kogoro, and "the brat" to a reception in Yokohama held by some rich company the Suzuki Financial Group had connections to.

"What's wrong, Christi-chan? You look distracted today." Ran's face suddenly filled her field of view.

Christi instinctively lurched back, but was blocked by the car seat's back. "Huh? Ah, um, I was just thinking of -"

Her mind raced with ciphers and white-clad phantoms.

"I was just thinking of how the Detective Boys and I are just like the Baker Street Irregulars, who helped Holmes in cases!" she blurted out.

Ran huffed in slight annoyance and straightened up. "Geez, you're just like that Holmes geek. Holmes this, Holmes that, every single time she does _anything_!"

Christi gave out a half-hearted laugh before she yawned and returned her gaze to the window. She contemplated the peaceful scenery flashing by, and subconsciously scratched at her thigh. Since Sonoko had stressed that the restaurant was first-class, Ran had tried to coax Christi into a dress, which Christi stubbornly refused to wear until Ran nearly broke a door down.

And so, Christi was now in a very itchy, and very puffy, baby blue dress that had absolutely _no_ pockets, complete with matching jacket, and an annoying purse. She wouldn't have kept the stupid purse had it not been large enough to contain her watch, voice-changing handkerchief, elasticity suspenders, and a single notebook. As an afterthought, she even stuffed her transmitter badge in the purse, even though she wouldn't be able to hear it if anyone tried to contact her.

Did she mention she was wearing flats? Her sneakers didn't match her outfit, much to her inconvenience. She'd have to ask Professor Agasa to make her power-enhancing kick _flats_ just for occasions like this. She felt naked, and not in the good way.

Christi sighed again and scratched her arm. There was a small rash now. She yawned again and settled in her seat.

She was already dozing as the taxi pulled up at their destination. She rubbed sleepily at her eyes and glanced out the window. It was only 6:30, and yet it seemed too dark.

Her eyes widened. It wasn't dark, it was just the shadow of the enormous building the taxi was idling by. And it wasn't any normal building, either. Ran stared, slack-jawed, at the "restaurant" looming in front of them. Kogoro looked even more shocked than the girls combined.

Ran muttered what was on everyone's mind. "That Sonoko never said it was a castle!"

* * *

Kaito was contented. For once, he didn't have to put his guard up; he could let loose and show off as much as he wanted.

"Ladies and gentlemen, behold, as I vanish right before your eyes!"

With a puff of smoke, he disappeared. His crowd cheered, and cheered even harder when he appeared seemingly out of thin air, presenting a yellow rose to a lady wearing a shimmering golden ball gown. He daintily brushed his lips on the back of her gloved hand, nearly causing her to swoon into the arms of her companions.

He did a couple more tricks, some with cards, and others with colorful ribbons. Typical, magician things really, but everyone loves a cheerful magician. The amiable crowd that gathered around him clapped and laughed joyously.

As a final trick, he said, "Now, watch as I do something you've never seen before!"

He decided not to use smoke this time, and instead took advantage of the reflection of light off the little crystals on a chandelier.

His audience blinked and stared at where Kaito had been just a few moments ago. Realizing that he had actually disappeared, they clapped in amazement, then started whispering when he didn't show up right away.

"Kai-chan!" Chikage popped up out of nowhere and grabbed Kaito's cheek, nearly throwing him off balance. He caught himself just in time and squirmed against his mom's grip.

"Mum! We're in public!" he hissed, thoroughly embarrassed. He shook off his mom's hand and rubbed his cheek. A few people laughed softly at the sight of the two. Kaito glared sulkily at them, and they stopped laughing, and backed off. Kaito focused on his mom.

Chikage Kuroba wore a European ball gown. It was lavender and white, and had a whole lot of lace. Not quite her style, but it fit the occasion. Meanwhile, Kaito was wearing a sharp black suit and had slicked his hair back so it was tamer than usual, and so his bangs didn't fall in his face.

"Kai-chan, you might blow your cover, you know!" Chikage winked playfully at her son.

Kaito rolled his eyes. "Mum, my friends don't know I'm Kid. And I spend more time with them than these people here! Besides, no one will suspect me! I'm wearing black, I'm far from any of the places I've ever robbed, and my hair is fixed." A lock of hair bounced back into it's messy state. Kaito blanched a little and quickly smoothed it back. "See?"

Chikage pouted as if she were Kaito's younger sister instead of his mother. "Sure, Kai-chan. And that's supposed to explain why Saguru-san and Kozumi-san know you're Kid?"

Irritated now, Kaito's eyebrow twitched. "Mum, those guys are exceptions!"

Chikage smirked and crossed her arms. "Then what about that precious 'Tantei-kun' of yours? She's surprised you at every heist of yours, and I've caught you snooping around the Mouri's unnecessarily. Is she bothering you for being so smart at such a young age? Or are you pissed because someone younger than you by half is outwitting y-"

Kaito mirrored her earlier actions and pouted. "Mum! You don't have to ruin my night! I'm finally off guard for once, and you have to come and annoy me to death!"

Chikage put one hand on her hips and waggled a finger. "Now, Kai-chan. Is that any way to show respect for your parent? I'll take away your card gun!"

Kaito made a shooing gesture with his hand and grinned widely. "Sure, mum." He scampered away, looking for another jovial crowd to entertain.

Chikage's lip curled into a small smile. She knew that she was terrible at enforcing rules or getting Kaito to do something. Toichi had always been the better parent anyway.

* * *

Christi was tired. She didn't like it when a _certain girl_ made arrangements on a whim, didn't tell her victims everything, and robbed Christi of precious rest. Christi, Ran, and Kogoro gaped at the tall castle. It looked like something someone plucked out of the Victorian era. They found Sonoko waving to them excitedly at the entrance of the castle, wearing an old fashioned ball gown. (At least she wasn't wearing something revealing.) Ran fumed a bit, annoyed at her friend's little secret, and started babbling about how she was "underdressed" and whatnot.

Christi admired the beautiful interior of the "restaurant". She recalled the descriptions of castles in books she had read before, and was pleased that the castle met her expectations. She was not, however, pleased with this immature brat who seemed to take a liking to Christi and made it his personal mission to follow her everywhere and annoy her in the most obnoxious way possible.

Ran merely found it adorable that Christi found herself a "boyfriend", which Christi openly scoffed at. She stifled a yawn and gazed at the crowd milling about and dancing.

 _Why were they here, anyway?_

She didn't appreciate being out late, and just when she was planning on sleeping right for once, too. She was fine with parties, but she was just not in the mood right now. Music began to play, and a few brave couples started dancing.

"M'lady, would you like to dance?" The boy held out his greasy little hands to her. Christi was a little reluctant to hurt the boy's feelings, which didn't make any sense, but she also didn't feel like standing up. She was about to take the boy's hand when Ran called for her. Christi sighed in relief, and called, "Coming, Ran-neechan!", making her way to where Ran waved.

She noticed the addition of two women to their group. One of them was young, she observed, probably in her late 20's and very pretty, with curled auburn hair, fox-like eyes, and a small, pert nose. Her smile was soft, and her face kind, but her eyes held sadness that Christi couldn't understand. Christi's eyes flickered to the woman's hands to see white gloves. She took note that the woman's left glove was a little dirty with something blue.

Christi focused on the older woman. She looked just like the first, only 50, and had light chestnut hair with streaks of silver that was styled too extravagantly, wide eyes, an abundance of make-up, and an unusually pointy nose. Her mouth smiled, but her eyes were hard and cold. The woman's nails were well manicured, and painted with a bright red.

Sonoko smiled. "Look here, brat. This, " Sonoko gestured to the younger woman, "is Nozomi Masaki, the daughter of the previous owner of this restaurant. I already explained all this to Ran and her old man here, and you're the only one left. I guess you're too busy with your little _boyfriend_ over there, huh?" Sonoko smiled pointedly at Christi, who rolled her eyes in reply.

 _Nozomi Masaki : Daughter of Akira Masaki, age 29_

"Sonoko-chan, you mustn't be so mean to this cute little girl." Nozomi reached down and lightly pinched Christi's cheek. "I think she looks sweet and adorable in that baby blue dress."

"Th-thank you, Nozomi-oneesama!" Christi lisped a little, causing Nozomi to coo over her. "By the way, Nozomi-oneesama, are you left handed?"

Nozomi stared into Christi's bright blue eyes. "You're a really sharp girl, aren't you? How did you figure that I was left handed?"

"That's because you have a blue stain on your left glove," Christi replied. "It's really faint, but it suggests that you used your left hand to write. Furthermore, you used your left hand earlier to rummage through your bag, pick up that champagne glass and fix your hair. That's how I deduced that you were left handed."

The woman laughed softly. "Looks like some of your skills rubbed off her, Sleeping Kogoro."

Kogoro guffawed. "Oh, of course! No one can help it! After all, I am the Great Detective, Sleeping Kogoro!"

"Hmp!" The older woman placed her hand on her hips. "That's just the younger generation casting spells on you to get what they want! The girl will act all sweet and innocent, but she really just wants to use you!"

 _Takako Masaki : Sister of Akira Masaki and Nozomi's aunt, age 57_

"Auntie, she's just a child. She's not capable of coming up with such thoughts." Nozomi said defensively.

Sonoko leaned down to whisper in Christi's ear. "That's Takako Masaki, Nozomi-san's aunt. She's really strict, and a bit of a nutjob, so don't get on her nerves like you do with every single adult you come across."

Christi half-heartedly glared at the girl once Sonoko turned her back.

"Yes, and it was Ryoto who went to you, is it not? Chasing after your inheritance!"

Christi looked at the duo. Somehow, they managed to strike up an argument in the half minute Sonoko held her attention.

"R-Ryoto's not like that!" Nozomi exclaimed indignantly. "He's just my secretary!"

"Your secretary, now, is it? Oh, just come off it and confess already! I _know_ that you two are secretly lovers!" Takako admonished.

A light blush dusted Nozomi's cheeks. "We aren't!"

Silence settled upon them at once like a cold, dense fog. Christi, however, was too busy thinking to read the atmosphere.

"Hey, Sonoko-neesan said that you're the daughter of the previous owner of the restaurant, and Takako-san mentioned something about your inheritance. Did something happen to the owner?"

"Christi-chan!" Ran chided.

"Oi, you stupid brat, be more polite, will you? I even just told you not to annoy anyone!" Sonoko scolded.

"Oh, Sonoko-chan, she's just a child. I'm sure she didn't mean any harm."

"Were you not taught any manners?" Takako frowned at Christi. "Parents these days, what are they doing?"

 _Yikes,_ Christi thought. _Looks like I got on her bad side._

"Christi-chan, my father died of an illness a while back, and passed over the responsibility of being the head of his business to me." Nozomi crouched down to ruffle Christi's head. "You musn't spout out things like that, though, Christi-chan. You could hurt someone, or even yourself if you don't watch your mouth."

"See what I told you, brat? Listen to your elders!"

* * *

Theymade small talk for some while, until a man in a crooked suit rushed up to their group, panting and sweating. He had a mop of unkempt raven hair, and even darker eyes. Glasses were perched precariously on his nose, threatening to fall off. His tie wasn't knotted yet, and his shoes left a muddy track on the carpet.

 _Ryota Hayashi : Nozomi Masaki's secretary, age 31_

"Ryota-kun! What's the matter?"

"Masaki-sama... I'm terribly sorry... for being late..."

"Ryota! Fix your appearance! Is this the way to present yourself to the head? Go to the bathroom!" Takako chided.

"Right away, madam!" Ryota rushed to find the bathroom.

Ryota returned with another, older man. The man wore a dusty old tuxedo, and gave off a shy but firm presence. His silver hair sat wearily on the top of his head, and he looked to be about ten years older that Takako. Smile wrinkles graced his eyes, but he wasn't smiling now as he looked at Takako.

 _Masaru Sakai : Acquaintance to Nozomi Masaki, age 64_

"Masaru-san! What are you doing here?" Nozomi exclaimed.

"Ah, dear me, Nozomi-dono. Greetings, my child. Your secretary here, Ryota, has invited me here."

"My, my, my, Sakai-san. The likes of you are not welcome here. Please show yourself out the door, immediately!"

"Auntie! Ryota invited him! He has every right to be in here!" Nozomi protested.

Takako turned away, but not before muttering underneath her breath, "I have aversions towards your boyfriend, too, Nozomi. "

Ran, the self-proclaimed detective, and the little detective watched awkwardly as the two older adults had an intense staring (read : glaring) contest.

Christi was sure that she would have exploded from the tension, had a waiter not arrived to inform them that the buffet was ready. They all stood to help themselves to some food.

When they returned and began eating, the atmosphere was lighter, and they managed to bring up topics that had everyone joking and in good spirits in no time. Takako noticed that Nozomi hadn't touched anything but vegetables, and handed her a slice of cake placed in a decorative wax paper cup. "Here, child, or you'll never put on any weight. You're as thin as a stick, dearie!"

Nozomi smiled. "Thank you, Auntie." She slipped off her gloves and nibbled on the cake. "It's delicious!"

For once, a scowl didn't adorn the older woman's face.

* * *

Oh, how Ryota regretted having said anything about Nozomi's father.

Nozomi had a downcast look on her face as she stared at her food.

"Ah, Masaki-sama. I didn't mean to offend you. I apologize for my rudeness." Ryota placed a hand on the woman's shoulders. Nozomi started shaking noticeably, and her hands clenched her fork tightly.

The secretary's eyes widened as he jerked his hand away from Nozomi's shoulder before he stood from his chair and bowed down low. "I- I'm really sorry, Masaki-sama! I didn't think through my actions! Please, forgive me!"

Everyone at the table looked up at the two. Nozomi didn't answer the secretary.

Nozomi let go of her fork. It clattered onto her plate, the sound ringing in Christi's ears. She knew immediately that something was wrong. Nozomi hugged her sides then gasped out in a strangled voice, "4, 3, 7, 6." Nozomi Masaki then promptly collapsed on the floor, her body convulsing badly. Her eyes started protruding and her hands clawed at her throat. Her wheezing breath was apparent as she attempted to breathe in precious air, and she began to froth at the mouth.

"Masaki-sama! What happened?!"

"Nozomi-san!"

"Nozomi-dono! What's wrong, Nozomi-dono?!"

"Nozomi! My precious baby!"

People stood up. Some screamed, others fumbled to call an ambulance, while a few courageous ones started to rush to the woman's side. But Kogoro and Christi were already there, Kogoro having gone over the table, and Christi under it. Kogoro tentatively touched the woman, which just made her groan and tremble even harder. Kogoro yanked his hand away. "Ran, call an ambulance!"

Ran nodded. "I already have!"

Now that she was up close, Christi could see Nozomi mumbling something desperately under her breath and between the spasms of pain that appeared to rack her body. She was mouthing the numbers she uttered earlier, 4, 3, 7, and 6, over and over again.

Kogoro shouted, "Is there a doctor here? Anyone?" and furrowed his brows when no one replied. "I see. Everyone, please back down! Give Nozomi-san some space."

To Takako, he asked, "Does Nozomi-san have any allergies, or a history of asthma or seizures?"

With tears streaming down her face and messing up her make-up, she shook her head. "I've lived with her all her life, and I've never seen anything like this happen! What's going to happen to my baby?"

Kogoro's face grew more serious. "I'm not sure, ma'am. But from the looks of it..." His voice trailed off.

"... _she was poisoned, and might not recover,"_ Christi finished in her head.

Takako sniveled. "What? Is- is she going to die?" The woman began bawling, and crying out her niece's name repeatedly.

Kogoro turned grimly to Ran. "Call the police, too."

Christi gritted her teeth, all the while looking the woman over without touching her, since it seemed to hurt her even more. Nozomi's skin was tinged with blue. She was running out of time! The detective racked her brain for a poison that caused these symptoms. Then she knew, and the answer took her aback. "Strychnine," she muttered, thinking hard. "Convulsions, shortness of breath, frothing, she was poisoned with strychnine! Who uses that anymore, anyway?"

Christi stared at the woman, frustrated at her helplessness. "What was the treatment for strychnine? Potassium bromine... salt, and somnote? Augh, I'll have to ask for it in Uncle's name again... but most likely there's only salt in the-"

"Does anyone have salt, and sleeping pills?" Christi's ears perked up. Who said that?

"Excuse me, little girl. " Christi's head jerked up in surprise. The voice sounded terribly close, but she hadn't even felt anyone approach her! The shrunken teen looked up to see a pretty lady stand next to her. The lady had short purple hair and a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She wore a lavender and white gown, heavily lavished with lace, and accentuated with ribbons. Her hands hid behind stark white gloves that came up to her elbows.

A voice in the crowd spoke up. "Chikage-san? What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying that potassium bromine and somnote is the antidote for the poison! Now hurry up! A person's life is on the line!" Chikage commanded.

Christi gawked at the woman. Chikage's presence was so overwhelming that it befuddled her how she hadn't noticed that there was someone behind her, before the person in question alerted Christi to her presence herself.

Chikage knelt next to the detective and winked. "Isn't that right, Shin-chan?"

Christi stared wide-eyed at the purple haired lady. " _Mom_?!"

Chikage nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! I overheard you muttering about that poison thing. Strict 9, was it? What kind of name for a poison is that, anyway?"

Christi pressed her lips together in a thin line. She exhaled deeply as if to calm herself. "Mom, first of all, it's spelled 's-t-r-y-c-h-n-i-n-e'. Second of all, what are you doing here? And what sort of alias is 'Chikage'? That means... shadow?"

Chikage placed her index finger across her lips. "Let's talk later, okay, Christi-chan?"

"Y-yeah, sure, Mom."

The man from earlier trotted up to them and paced anxiously. "Chikage-sama, there was some salt in the kitchen, and one guest had sleeping pills. What must be done now?"

Chikage felt a sharp tug at her dress. "What is it?"

In a low voice, Christi said, "Ask the old man to fetch some water. About a liter or so."

Chikage relayed this to the man. In almost no time at all, he returned with the requested water. At Christi's instructions, Chikage dumped an amount of salt and somnote into a half a liter of water. Chikage, along with Kogoro, managed to sit Nozomi up, although they had to force her to drink the mixture when. A few heart-stopping seconds after the treatment, Nozomi drooped off to sleep, her skin slowly regained its rosy pallor and her body stopped convulsing, with the occasional twitch.

Takako, Masaru, and Ryota all graciously thanked Chikage repeatedly, calling her Nozomi's saviour again and again, as the ambulance arrived and carted away the unconscious woman. Red and blue flashing lights flooded the outside of the hotel.

The secretary asked, "Pardon, Miss Chikage, but I'm curious as to how knowledgeable you were about the poison and its treatment."

"Indeed, this information is of notable worth. For what reason would a beautiful lady know things supposedly not within her realm?" A male's voice cut in.

Judging by his suit and badge, Christi reckoned that he was a police officer, and probably a detective at that.

"I'm Akihiro Kitagawa, a police detective. I've heeded your call, Miss Chikage." Akihiro swooped down in a deep bow. "And so, Miss? We're waiting for your answer."

Forensics and police officers began sweeping in, dusting off various surfaces, marking off the crime scene, and interrogating the customers.

Christi noticed that her mom started perspiring, which was strange because sweat wasn't supposed to be able to form on masks, and her mother was usually pretty calm about these sort of things. A small idea wormed its way into the back of her head.

"I'm a writer, " Chikage replied smoothly. "And I'm no 'Miss', I'm married!"

The little worm wiggled its way further. Christi creased her brow. Yukiko almost always proclaimed she was an actor and that it came up in one of her scripts, or something. But perhaps she just decided to do something different this time. The worm shrank back a bit.

A thought tickled her. "Takako-san, what were those numbers that Nozomi-oneesama said?"

"Those, those are probably the passcode to her safe. She said she placed something very important there. Nozomi always told me that she was sure someone might kill her someday, even though I said that she was just being paranoid. But someone's gone and tried it! I fear for my life now!"

"Would you like to come with us, Takako-san?" Kogoro asked.

Takako shook her head. "I-if it's okay, I'd like to stay here. I need to sit down..."

Akihiro gently nudged Kogoro aside. "Takako-san, I think it would help if you came with us, since you might have an idea of where the safe is."

"N-no," she sniveled. "I only know that it's on the second floor, but that floor is Nozomi's only, so I haven't stepped foot in there since the day she claimed it as her own."

As the group of men and the two highschool girls (with the addition of a sly little girl who managed to sneak up behind them) filed up the stairs, Christi noticed that Takako was asked to stand by the police. She absently thought that they would perform a body check on her, and focused on the mystery before her. What was in the safe, and why was it so essential?

They found the safe in a room in a desolate corner of the upper floor. Opening it revealed an sealed, off-white envelope. Akihiro tore it open carefully and read the contents.

Kogoro looked over Akihiro's shoulder and caught a glimpse of the big letters on top. "Her will?! At a young age, she's already made one!"

Akihiro didn't reply and instead grinned widely, then laughed all of a sudden. "Masaru Sakai!"

"Y-yes?"

The police detective shoved the piece of paper in the man's face.

"I hereby accuse you of attempting to murder Nozomi Masaki!"

* * *

 **To KirikaAndo: Well, although "kun" is usually used for males, I thought I could make an exception this time because, apparently, close friends/family can call you that regardless of your gender. As for Kid calling Christi "Tantei-kun" instead of "Tantei-chan", the reason for this will pop up in one of the chapters. Thanks for pointing this out. I think I confused other readers.**

 **To Guest: Uh, I don't have any other stories. This is my first. Just saying.**

 **A/N:**

 **(Guys, I don't know how to do Chikage's character! I'm sorry if she's OoC!)**

 **Did you like it, or was it a bit boring?( It took a bit of research for the strychnine and all that. I think that it was sort of 'meh'. )This is not a filler, this is an encounter between Kaito and Christi! Please review! You can be open about anything you liked or disliked, any mistakes you think I made, or any suggestions you'd like to make. Thanks so much for reading! (No one will probably even read this. Nevertheless, it's here.)**

 **-Spicy and Poisonous**


	3. You're Second-Hand Smoke

**Hey guys! Another chapter, coming right up! Think of it as compensation (in the form of a chapter) for my extremely long and still unexcused period of inactivity.**

 **-Spicy and Poisonous**

* * *

Akihiro set down the piece of paper, allowing Christi to sneak a peek. Her eyes scanned the page and at once, she understood the grounds for the police detective's accusations. Nozomi wrote that she would give her position as the head of her father's business, along with all the Masaki's properties and money, to Masaru Sakai. Assuming that Masaru really had met her only a few weeks ago would certainly place Masaru as their number one suspect.

"There's absolutely no doubt! Masaru-san, you tried to murder the lovely Nozomi-san!"

"Me? Murder Nozomi?!"

Christi looked at Masaru's face. His entire features were contorted into disbelief and shock, which meant two things: He was either stunned by the prospect of being found out, or he was stunned that he was being straight-out accused for murder. Christi frowned, thinking hard. Something felt wrong about this.

"Hmm," Kogoro said out loud. "Certainly, this is almost irrefutable proof that Masaru-san forged Nozomi's will, or threatened her into writing this down. It would definitely explain why Takako dislikes Masaru-san. Perhaps she felt bad vibes come off him."

"Mouri-san!" Masaru protested.

"But!" Kogoro stressed. "Ryota-san, it is true that right before Nozomi-san collapsed, you held her shoulder?"

"Er, yes?"

Triumphantly, Kogoro pointed at the secretary, then at the old man. "I got it! Masaru-san and Ryota-san are accomplices! It makes sense because..."

Christi didn't feel like hearing the rest. She bolted out the door in search for evidence.

"Ah! Christi-chan, where are you going?" Ran called after her.

"I'm going to the bathroom!" Christi slowed down to say, then sped up and bounded down the stairs.

Christi spotted a police officer. He'd have to do. It's not like she was allowed to mess around the scene, anyway.

"Excuse me, Mr. Officer! Uncle Kogoro told me to ask someone to search thoroughly for something like a needle. And also to take all the suspects for a body check."

The officer squinted at the girl. "An' how can I be sure yer tellin' the truth, girlie?"

Christi's eyebrow twitched, but she quickly hid it with a wide smile. This guy reminded her a little of Heiji, an Osakan with too much perception for her tastes. "Pleaaaaase, Mr. Officer?" she wheedled, coating her words with as much sgar she could muster. "Uncle Kogoro told me that this was super-duper urgent!"

"Sure, li'l girlie. I was jes messin' with ya." The officer left, whistling.

Christi turned heel to "spy on the adults" once more, but spotted Chikage heading in the other direction. Without a second thought, she turned again and raced to catch up with her mom.

"Mom! Where are you going? Aren't you going to help me?"

Chikage slapped a hand over the girl's mouth. "Shh, Shin-chan. You forget that I'm not supposed to be related to you."

Christi crossed her arms. "Mom, you're acting weird. I mean, I'm fine with you letting me do all the work, but I'm going to need you as soon as I figure out who did it."

Chikage shrugged her shoulders. "Can't you just dart Ran's old man as usual? I don't feel like drawing attention to my self. Excuse me, Shin-chan. I need to go to the bathroom."

"Uh, Mom? The bathroom's that way. You're heading to the back exit." Christi jabbed her thumb to the left and raised her eyebrows quizically.

"Ah, yes. I got lost. Thanks, Shin-chan!"

Christi watched her mom disappear into the crowd. There was something peculiar about what she said, but the detective couldn't put her finger on it. She pushed that thought away, focused on the bigger problem before her, and lost herself in silent meditation.

Ten minutes later found Christi dashing about, checking for the results of the favors she asked, and looking for a particular piece of evidence. She was so focused that she almost didn't notice Chikage come to stand beside her.

Christi couldn't find Nozomi's gloves. There were identical ones right were she last saw them, but the left glove lacked the little blue stain. She immediately thought that the gloves must have been switched during the commotion.

She knew who did it! She finally found the truth! She was about to go to Chikage, but something stopped her.

Christi watched the woman. She claimed to ber her mom, but she gave off a different feel. Perhaps she wasn't someone who wished her any harm, but Christi wasn't taking any chances. She turned to her default choice, ensured that Kogoro was right where he should be, and pressed the button on her watch.

* * *

The moment right after she darted Kogoro, Christi discreetly dove under the long rectangular table the sleeping detective managed to sit at before losing consciousness completely. She quickly checked to see if her voice changing handkerchief was on Kogoro's voice before completely disappearing into the folds of the tablecloth.

Someone beside her yelped and made her jump so hard in surprise that she bumped her head on the table. She crouched back down and gingerly touched the forming lump.

"Oh, wow, sorry. Are you okay?" A hushed voice leaped out at her from her right. She tensed, and analyzed the stranger automatically. _Male,_ she thought, _around 15 to 17 years old, a rulebreaker from the looks of it, probably well-off and arrogant like most rich people are..._

"Yes, I'm fine." Christi tried to hide the irritation in her tone. "Who are you, and what are you doing here? Crime scenes are off-limits to civilians..." Her voice trailed off as she remembered that she was technically a civilian, too.

"Ku- I mean, I'm Kuroba. I just wanted to hear a great detective up close." Christi was surprised that this Kuroba didn't fire her question back at her, like a normal person would.

"And, uh, what's your name? You really shouldn't be here, you're just a kid," Kuroba added after a short pause.

Oh. There it was. Ugh, she hated that question. It took her all her willpower not to retort, " _I'm not a kid, I'm actually 17 years old, and way smarter than you think you are. I was de-aged against my will. Now I'm the brain behind the blumbering detective you think is so great_."

She smiled even though it was too dark to see, and chirped in a sweet voice, "I'm probably doing the same thing as you are, nii-san. Sneaking up next to the crime scene!"

"Oh."

Christi frowned. A normal person would interrogate her, right? Tell her off, and shoo her away. Not to mention she didn't even give her name. But perhaps this Kuroba person was stranger than she thought he was.

They sat in silence for a few seconds while Christi pondered what to do. Weird or not, she couldn't let anyone know that she was the real "Sleeping Kogoro". She had two options: find a way to get the male out, or to switch tables. The former would prove very difficult to do without drawing attention to the table, and the latter would mean that she'd have to sneak a button speaker on Kogoro, and she did _not_ have one on her person because of the stupid dress.

"Mouri-han, what's taking you so long? Are you doubting your own deduction? I actually don't even see why we have to stand around and listen to you, because it's plain as day that Masaru Sakai attempted to murder Nozomi-sama!" The voice of that annoying wannabe police detective filtered through the thick table cloth. She needed to do something, and _fast._

 _"_ I- I swear I did nothing of the sort!" The man stuttered indignantly.

 _"_ Dad..." Ran's soft voice reached her ears. She couldn't let her best friend down! She had to say the truth!

"Kai-chan! There you are! I told you not to run off!" A voice Christi later identified as Chikage's hissed dangerously near her ear.

Christi was momentarily blinded as a portion of the tablecloth was lifted up. She recovered just in time to witness a gloved hand reach in and grab Kuroba by the ear. Even as she gaped at the scene before her, Christi couldn't help but notice the deep blue eyes that stared at her own even as the owner yelped, "Mum!" and was dragged away. And she couldn't help but realize that Kuroba could have passed off for her, that is, if she were still 17, and male for that matter.

The table cloth swung back in place and Christi was once again enveloped in darkness. But the image of Kuroba still burned in her mind. Why did he look so familiar? Well, aside from being a splitting image of herself, he looked like someone she'd seen before.

"Mouri-han!" Akihiro's arrogant voice brought her back. "I will give orders to arrest Sakai-san immediately if you don't- "

"That's quite enough, Kitagawa-san. I will now begin my deduction."

All eyes trained on the hunched over figure.

Ran smiled faintly. She was certain that Masaru wasn't the culprit, and didn't like seeing injustice served. Why did people have to kill, anyway?

" 'Why would anyone attempt to murder a gentle lady like Nozomi-san?'... is what I'm guessing is running through your minds. Was Nozomi-san secretly cruel to her aunt, or her secretary?"

Ryota slammed his hands down on the table. "Masaki-sama would never be cruel, or mean to anyone!"

"Please calm down, Ryota-san. I was about to say that Nozomi-san never did anything for such a thing to happen, yet the entire occurrence is her fault. Since she was the daughter of Masaki-san, the previous owner of the restaurant and partners with several big establishments like the Suzuki Financial Group, when Masaki-san passed away, Nozomi-san managed to inherit the millions of yen her father left behind.

"My suppositions were originally on 3 people : Takako Masaki, Ryota Hayashi, and Masaru Sakai. But now that we have revealed what was in the safe, and what Nozomi-san's will is, I know who attempted to murder her! But let me first explain the trick. We initially thought that anyone could have slipped in the poison in Nozomi-san's food, the reason for that was the restaurant having a buffet, or injected it into her shoulder. Furthermore, my suspicions narrowed down to the two people who could have put in the poison at anytime, having the greatest opportunities to do so! And those two are Takako Masaki, her aunt, and Ryota Hayashi, her secretary and secret lover!"

"Tch. I knew it," Takako muttered, glowering at Ryota, who wasn't at all oblivious to her glare, and shivered in response.

Akihiro stared hard at Kogoro. "Oi, oi, oi, you don't mean to say that our number one suspect has been eliminated from our list? Masaru Sakai's name was on Nozomi-san's will as inheritor of her fortune, even though they had just met a couple of weeks ago! He's obviously the culprit!"

"Yes, this filthy man definitely did it!" Takako shrieked. Christi smiled from her position under the table. She had the culprit in the palm of her hand. "I don't know him at all," Takako continued, "so it's definitely him!"

"Never jump to conclusions, Kitagawa-san. You clearly are still a novice at your job, no matter how much natural talent you might have. And Takako-san, Masaru Sakai is no stranger to Nozomi-san, or to you at that. Please don't deny it anymore, Takako-san, when I say that Masaru is the man you married and tried to kill twenty years ago, I mean."

Takako turned pale. "How? How did you find out?" she asked, with a horrified look on her face. Ran's and Sonoko's faces mirrored Takako's. To think that the person they were sharing a meal with just a few hours ago was actually a criminal!

Masaru nodded slowly. "I suppose it is impossible to fool the person I'd been with for such a long part of my life. I knew that she recognized me from the moment she met my eyes. Why she didn't say anything at first puzzles me, though." That last part was obviously intended for Takako to answer, but the woman ignored it.

"But how? How did you know?" She asked, directing her speech to Kogoro.

"I realized it when I read the will. It was merely an affirmed fact by then, though. I suspected from the start that Nozomi-san knew Masaru-san personally, but only entertained the idea that Masaru-san knew you ever since you started trying to force the blame on him. Masaru-san, you and Nozomi-san were close, weren't you?"

"Yes, we were. I changed my face and my name, but that Nozomi managed to see through me. She's as perceptive as ever, that girl."

Takako glared somewhat hesitantly at Masaru. "That this _man_ knows my precious baby does not mean he cannot be the culprit! In fact, he could have been plotting to get money from the start **,** pretending to have good intentions!"

"Nonsense! If anything, you're the one who wanted money!"

"Lies! Lies and sacrilege! Why else would _your_ name be on my precious baby's will?!"

"Oh, drop the act, Takako! Just confess to your crime already! Confess, and maybe people will forgive you!"

Takako seethed. "Forgive?! Oh, whatever for?"

"Takako-san, you've attempted murder once before in your life, and failed. You managed to escape justice, but now you're tempting fate again. Have you not yet learnt your lesson? Why must you try to kill a second time?"

"M-Mouri-san, what blasphemy are you spouting? I've served a sentence once, and I wouldn't want to go back to jail! Besides, you've only eliminated _Masaru-san_ ," she sneered, her voice dripping with venom, "and there's still Ryota left. He touched Nozomi right before she started having a fit. What makes you so sure _I'm_ the one who tried to kill Nozomi?"

"Ryota-san was indeed the last one to come in contact with Nozomi-san. I considered the possibility that he injected the poison into Nozomi-san once he held her shoulder. However, he came out clean after the body search, and whatever he could have used to inject the strychnine has not yet been found, if we assume he actually had the chance to toss it somewhere without being noticed by the heavy guard. We can always confirm with the doctors in the hospital to see whether she has a puncture on her shoulder or not.

"Besides, I have solid evidence against you, Takako Masaki. Strychnine works about ten minutes after ingestion. Ten minutes before Nozomi-san collapsed, the only thing she ate with her hands was _the cake you handed to her_. She had to take her gloves off to eat them."

Takako began to perspire. "Well, was there poison on her gloves? The forensics team must have checked them already!"

"They couldn't find poison in her gloves because you switched them when we went to the safe, didn't you? I imagine you figured that you could plant the originals somewhere to frame Ryota-san if your plan with Masaru didn't work, but you never had the opportunity to do so, did you? Yo even managed to avoid being body-searched. But now that it's come to this, I must ask, they're still in your bag, aren't they?"

Takako looked trapped, fear, anger and desperation brimming in her eyes.

Akihiro appeared in front of Takako. "Excuse me. If you will, your bag, please."

The elder woman sighed, and smiled, defeated. She handed her bag to the police detective. "Search all you want. You'll find the gloves there, as well as the bottle I used to contain the strychnine. You amaze me, Sleeping Kogoro. Though I suppose this wasn't exactly an perfect crime either."

"I want to ask you something, Takako-san. Why would you do something like that?"

"I couldn't accept the fact that my brother didn't leave a single cent for me. The money didn't matter much, I just wanted him to think of me. I loved my brother, and I hated his child. I wanted to erase her."

"That isn't true, " Christi interjected, the table cloth swinging behind her. "You really loved Nozomi-oneesama, right? She just reminded you too much of your brother, so you took out all your anger on her. But why you would try and kill someone you love is unfathomable to me. No matter the reason, the killing of a human being is never justified."

Ran looked at Christi. Was she hiding under the table this whole time? She mumbled, "Christi-chan..."

Christi's ears picked up a hint of suspicion, so was her regular method of convincing people that she wasn't smart, she quickly reassured them that it was Kogoro who told her that. A phone's jingle pierced the thick atmosphere. It was Akihiro's. He spoke professionally, something Christi thought she'd never hear from someone with his unsophisticated attitude.

"I think it's too early to be speaking of Nozomi-san in past tense, girl. That call was from the hospital! Her condition has stabilized, and she's on the road to recovery! We'll be interrogating her later, when she's fully recovered."

Takako said nothing and allowed a couple of officers to cuff her and lead her away. Masaru followed them closely behind.

"Masaru, have you forgiven me?"

"Takako, I will never forgive you. But my heart cannot take this wrath any longer. I merely no longer hold a grudge on you."

"Masaru... you're too kind for your own good."

The car door slammed shut, like a period ending a sentence. A high pitched siren wailed louder than the rest.

Masaru returned to their group, where Akihiro was still speaking with the newly awakened Kogoro. Akihiro snapped his fingers in revelation all of a sudden, causing Kogoro to stumble back and trip over himself.

"I just remembered! This is all thanks to that writer's quick thinking! Where is Chikage-san, anyway?" Akihiro scanned the room.

Christi followed his gaze. Alas, the purple haired woman was nowhere to be found. Christi's worst suspicions were confirmed. The woman named Chikage was not her mother in disguise after all. Fear gripped her heart with an iron hold. In spite of herself, Christi whispered out loud, her eyes widening, "The Black Organization!"

* * *

 **Hey, hi, hi! Is it too fast paced? Doesn't make any sense? Tell me about it! I had a headache for days after reading my own work! (Does that count as an excuse for why this is late? No? Oh, well. I tried.)**

 **Also, in case you guys got confused, Kaito was about to say "Christi", or "Kurisu-ti". I'm not sure if this is actually how Japanese pronounce Christi, I just assumed it because Okabe always teased Kurisu about her name by adding -tina to the end, and the subs spelled it out as "Christina". It actualy took me a while to understand why Kurisu kept exclaiming, "There's no -tina at the end!", and I finally figured that it was "Kurisu-tina". So, yeah. I got the idea for this part. (Perhaps my explanation was unnecessary?)**

 **-Spicy and Poisonous**


	4. I Can't Sit Idly, No I Can't Move At All

**I'd like to thank all the people who have reviewed my work, but I want to give special attention to ChosenChild, for providing a novice with the kind of review most appreciated.**

 **(Okay, I just realized that it's supposed to be "Kaitou KID", not "Kaitou Kid". (O.o) I'll start using it like that starting this chapter. I won't fix the other chapters, though. )**

 **This chapter starts in the morning of the day after Chapter 3, a few minutes before our favorite detective's alarm goes off.**

 **-Spicy and Poisonous**

* * *

A scruffy looking man wearing an even scruffier hat waited impatiently at the edge of the dock. He'd been there for the past hour, and despite all his attempts to keep himself entertained, he was getting more impatient by every passing minute. He glared at the sky, silently willing the sun to rise faster.

The sky grew a shade lighter. Then finally, _finally_ , that beautiful first golden ray of sunshine revealed itself. However, the man didn't bother gawking over the gorgeous scene before him. He was up and running towards the nearest telephone booth faster than the light could hit him. He was ordered to deliver this ' _special package'_ right on time. The man looked around furtively, and after ensuring that no one had seen him, he adjusted his cap and melted into the shadows, taking with him the packet of cocaine left in a nook of the booth.

The very moment Christi pried her eyes open to behold a worried looking Ran, a woman no older than 20 staggered as if drunk into the telephone booth. She killed her façade for a few seconds, just enough time to slip the package into her pocket, then unsteadily walked to a nearby car. The woman broke open the window with a rock and sped away with it.

By the time the woman reached her destination, Ran had just left the house, leaving Christi to deal with her fever that came sometime in the night. The woman tripped down the subway steps and casually bumped into a hooded figure. Cash replaced the package, and the woman smiled and walked away like nothing happened.

While Christi rolled over in bed again in an attempt to ignore the obnoxious ringing of her phone that seemed too far for her to reach, the hooded figure jumped into a train headed for Osaka. He left the package taped under his seat then pick-pocketed a tourist on his way out.

It was around lunchtime for our sick little detective when a clean-shaven business man rushed through the train doors. He occasionaly glanced at his watch, then at his phone. As the train pulled into Tokyo Station, he felt around for something under his seat. A triumphant look settled in his eyes once his fingers brushed against the package. The business man hurried out of the station and into a taxi. He got off at a random office building and intentionally left behind the package.

The taxi driver glanced at the package through the mirror and shook his head. After a moment's decision, he took it to a small police office and drove off, thinking of the still busy day ahead of him.

The scruffy man glanced at the cheap phone he swiped from an unsuspecting vendor. It was almost time...

The clock tower did not dissapoint. It chimed twice, marking the fourteenth hour of the day. The man pressed 'Send'.

* * *

At the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters, Inspector Megure's phone vibrated, although the Inspector himself would only notice the message early in the evening, when Christi received a quick call from Ran saying that she was sorry, but she definitely _had_ to stay over at school for karate practice, and a sloppy text from Kogoro declaring that the brat would have to fend for herself that night as he was given an oppurtunity to visit a luxury hotel for "work reasons".

Christi sighed and unceremoniously dumped herself on the couch in the agency's office. Her fever had gone down to the point that she barely even noticed it, so she felt better, almost as if she had never gotten sick in the first place. Then for the third time that day, her phone rang. The detective absently answered it without bothering to check the caller I.D.

"Are you over it now?"

"Excuse me?"

"Kudo-chan, are you well?"

"Oh, it's you. Actually, my temperature's gone down quite a bit, but I don't really feel like moving around..."

"So you're almost recovered?"

Christi stared at her phone. "Huh? Yeah, that's what I just told-"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, NOT COMING TO SCHOOL, NOT ANSWERING YOUR PHONE, AND NOT EVEN BOTHERING TO TELL US YOU WERE SICK?!"

Haibara heard nothing at the other end. "Kudo-chan? Are you _ignoring_ me? You were the one who called me so insistently last night!"

"Sorry, sorry, I had to pick up the phone from where I flung it across the room because you _nearly broke my eardrums_."

The scientist huffed. "I don't have time for your jokes, idiot. We talked about _them_ last night, remember? What do you think I was worrying about when you didn't come to school, and when I didn't even see that Mouri girl?"

Christi paused. "You were worried about me? That's... unusual."

"Oh, don't misunderstand, Shinichi Kudo. I'd love to see your demise, or even be the cause of it. I was concerned about myself." Her words lacked its usual sharpness, which reassured Christi that Haibara did have a bigger heart than she thought.

"Sure. Anyway, I'll be right over. I'm the only one left here tonight, might as well spend the night there."

"Good. Be quick."

The telephone rang just as the girl flicked the light switch.

"Ugh, what now?" Christi turned the light back on and made her way to the phone.

"Hello? This is the Mouri Detective Agency. If you are looking for Detective Kogoro Mouri, he isn't here at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?"

"Oh, it's you, Christi-chan. Is Mouri-san really not there?"

Christi leaned against the table. "Sato-keiji? Uncle really isn't here. He said he's in a meeting with a client, but he's probably actually on a date with Ran-neechan's mom."

"That's too bad... I mean, good for him! Sorry to have bothered you, Christi-chan. Goodnight!"

"Sato-keiji, what's wrong? Was someone murdered?" Christi waited as the police detective hesitated.

"No... Not yet, at least. We were sent a code, and we can't solve it. We were hoping that Mouri-san could solve it."

 _Code?_ "Th-then! In that case, I'm pretty sure Shinichi-neechan would be happy to-" A short coughing spell bubbled out of her throat. "Sorry, I've just had a fever. A-anyway, if Uncle's not answering, maybe Shinichi-neechan can help? She might have, maybe, said something before about taking a short break..."

Christi could tell that the officer's mood had gone up. "Really? This is great news! Shinichi-chan would be perfect for this! Thanks, Christi-chan, we'll call her right away. Get better soon! Goodnight!"

 _3... 2... 1..._

Nothing. Her phone didn't ring. Oh, well. Maybe the phone call to Uncle Kogoro got through. _What a disappointment,_ she thought. A code would do her some good to take her mind off that certain organization.

Speaking of which... Christi thought back to last night. The only reason why she felt no real hurry to talk to Haibara was because she had a nagging feeling clawing at her head that she couldn't shake. The feeling that those people weren't really from the Organization. And yet logic told her that they _should_ be, well, not that she wanted them to be, but that there was no other group of people who might know of her true identity.

Her ears perked up as the display on her phone lit up. Christi readied her voice-changer handkerchief and answered the call.

"Shinichi-chan? This is Sato, from the police department. I hope I'm not bothering you right now, but your cute cousin recommended you."

 _I'm not cute!_ Christi thought indignantly as she hopped onto one of the couches. "That kid with the glasses is just some distant relative," she said quickly. "I'm free right now. Is something the matter?"

"Yes, actually, there's a code that we couldn't solve. A text was sent to Inspector Megure a few hours ago saying that there was a package for us downtown at a police office. We found a piece of paper in it. Shiratori said it was Latin, but none of us are fluent enough. We tried using the internet, but we still can't make head or tails of it."

Christi picked at her shirt. "I see. Could you send me a picture of the code?"

"Straightaway. Thank you so much for your cooperation, Shinichi-chan. I swear, though, if this turns out to be some harmless prank..."

"Hmm... Were you able to trace the package's origins?"

"Of course not! We found out that it was left behind by some taxi driver's customer, a business man, but when we investigated, it turned out, that man doesn't even exist."

The detective furrowed her brows. "Then it's most probably a genuine warning. I'll hang up now, so please send me the picture rightaway."

A few moments afterwards, the girl received a message. The code was written in a clean square of white paper. There was also a photo of a small newspaper-wrapped box, which the detective presumed had previously held the message.

 _Caveat, belua!_

 _In flagrante delcito_

 _Evello oculorum_

 _Mea culpa,_

 _Vos sunt caeus_

 _Sed tantum cambitas quid pro quo:_

 _Vaticinium_

Quickly, she translated it in her head.

" _Beware, beast! Caught in the act of gouging eyes. By my fault, you are blind. But only through exchanging something for something : prophesy"_

She flicked her phone open and dialed a number. "Shinichi-chan? I knew you were good, but I didn't think-"

"Er, sadly, I haven't solved it yet. Whoever wrote this has really rough Latin. That person _did_ use a couple of well known phrases, though. I think we can rule out the probability of him being a foreigner or someone who can even speak Latin. I want to know what you police made of this, to give me something to work on."

"Um, I'm sorry, Shinichi-chan, but we really couldn't make sense of it. The last two threw us off. At first we suspected that some brutal murder would occur, but..."

Christi exhaled deeply and rubbed her temples. "No, that's okay. I'll call back if I figure anything out."

The detective grabbed pen and paper and set to work.

* * *

 _That stupid detective is definitely going to get it now._ She _was the one who called me,_ she _was the one who was so worried last night, and she thinks she can just throw me the cold shoulder the entire day?!_ The brown haired girl angrily shoved her hands through the arms of her jacket and stalked to the door.

"Haibara? Where are you going?" Professor Agase poked his head from out of his lab.

Haibara stopped her hand from reaching for the doorknob. What was she thinking? She couldn't go out there, not when they didn't know who exactly they were up against this time. Not when anyone could be lurking in the shadows, waiting for the oppurtune moment to catch her and drag her kicking and screaming to Vermouth and _him_.

And she knew that she wouldn't be able to hold it in around that detective, not with those annoying blue eyes subconsciously searching her every time for the antidote. If they were there, if they knew something about Shinichi Kudo and Christi Edogawa, they didn't need any concrete proof.

What was wrong with that detective, anyway? Haibara recalled the urgent and panicked tone in Christi's voice when she called her last night.

* * *

 _Haibara shuffled through her papers. The de-aged teen glanced at the properly labeled box carefully placed on her desk (since she wasn't keen on having a mix-up with the professor again), then turned to face the clock. It was too late to call ; that girl would probably be fast asleep by now, since she had a curfew, courtesy of that Mouri girl. Haibara could wait until tomorrow. She dragged herself up to her room and dumped herself on her bed, not even bothering to shed her labgown._

 _She almost drooped off to sleep before her cellphone rang. Her eyelids felt like lead as she pulled them open. Haibara groaned and groped around for the source of that infernal noise. She should probably change her ringtone._

 _"And I thought you would be asleep by now, or at least smart enough to know that people are usually_ asleep _at this hour, Kudo-chan."_

 _Christi snorted. "You tell me. It took a while for Ran to sleep, alright? But enough about that. I've something important to tell you."_

 _The brown haired girl raised her eyebrow. "Really? I have something important to tell you, too, but unlike some people, I consider the human need to-"_

 _"It's regarding the Black Organization."_

 _Haibara got that heart-stopping chill, the feeling she always gets in the presence of a member of the Organization. She sat up. "Well? Spill it already! If it's something about_ them _, we can't afford to lose a single moment!"_

 _Haibara could just imagine the girl on the other end scratching her head. "I might have encountered one- no, two, of them."_

 _"You met them, and you aren't even sure?! Your senses are really dull! Where were you today, anyway?"_

 _"Dull?!" Christi hissed indignantly. "I was on high-alert! We were in a top-notch restaurant, and there was an attempted murder, so I had to be on my toes to look out for the culprit!"_

 _"Culprit?" There was a dangerous edge to Haibara's tone, and Christi was beginning to regret opening her big mouth._

 _"Are you an idiot?! Did either of them see you do the deduction?!"_

 _Christi gave the girl the shortest possible version of her encounter with the purple-haired lady and her look-alike._

 _Haibara stood up and flicked on the light. That must have been Vermouth, no doubt about it. The other one could have been Bourbon, or maybe even someone they didn't know about yet. "Pretended to be- That's it. Kudo-chan, you are heading straight here immediately, and you and I will have words."_

 _"But Haibara, I can't leave the agency. And I don't think I should go out, especially not at this hour."_

 _"Then after school tomorrow. I'd say we discuss it during lunch break, but it's too risky out in the open."_

 _"If they managed to plant even one bug on me, it'll be risky_ everywhere _."_

 _"A bug! What are you talking to me for, then! Are you crazy?!"_

 _Christi winced. "Ouch, Haibara. You might wake Ran up, you know. And it's fine, I got rid of my clothes already, and I tossed the bag. I washed everything else, so anything that might have been there should be gone now."_

 _"You're a reckless piece of work, and I'm sorry I ever found you. You're going to get us all killed one day, Shinichi Kudo!"_

 _"I'm sorry! I'm worn out, you know!"_

 _"That is no excuse next to enemies like these. Be more careful. Understand?"_

 _"Yes, ma'am!" Christi automatically straightened up._

 _A click indicated that Christi had hung up. Haibara walked to the window and peeked through the thick cloth of the curtain at the Kudo residence next door. It was dark and silent, suggesting that the man living there was asleep, but the miniature scientist couldn't help but shake at the idea that he could be awake and watching her. She allowed the curtain to swing back into place and went back down to her lab. If she slept, she'd just have nightmares._

* * *

Christi stared at her notes. It didn't make sense. The code made no sense. She tried several different languages, she tried old methods of cracking codes. Why wasn't it working?

 _Maybe... just maybe it was that one..._

She picked up her phone again. "Sato-keiji? I'd like you to look for a couple of things for me..."

Christi listed off a few items. "Did you get all that?"

"Yes. Are you sure this will work, though?"

"No, but they're the only options I have left." She cleared her throat.

"We haven't had any reports yet of an incident. We're hoping that this isn't a murder."

"No, this probably is a murder. Or perhaps suicide. But if we don't figure out the code soon, someone will definitely die." Christi said. "Please hurry."

The mood was grim as the police detective confirmed the items and hung up. They didn't need to be reminded of what could happen if the code wasn't solved in time.

* * *

No, she definitely shouldn't go out. It wouldn't be safe. Haibara backed away from the door. The professor popped up from nowhere behind her, startling her badly.

"Dr. Agase! What are you-?!"

"Sorry, Ai-kun. I was just wondering if Subaru-san was already there, since he promised to deliver a few documents to Shinichi over at the agency. He said that he heard she was sick and wanted to bring her something hot to eat, then offered to take anything I wanted to send to her."

Haibara's nostrils flared. "I'm going with him!"

"I'd be honored, Princess, to be accompanied by you, but could someone please open the door first?"

Haibara's hand went for the doorknob before she could stop herself. She flung it open and looked up to see a worried Subaru-san gazing back down at her. She glanced behind him to see his car idled in front of the open gate. "How did you get in?"

He followed her gaze. "Well, it was open and no one was answering the doorbell, so I assumed it was alright to go in..."

A low laugh rumbled in the professor's stomach. "Ah, the doorbell. It broke, so I attempted to fix it, but it seems to be irreparable. I might have to buy a new one."

Subaru nodded. "I see... Anyway, I'm heading over to Mouri-san's agency, so if you still want me to bring anything over, I will take them now."

The professor reached to grab a folder on a nearby table. "Here. Please don't read them, Christi-chan said not to let anyone else see them."

Haibara gripped the hem of her jacket tightly. "You don't need a car to get to Edogawa-chan's house."

"I prepared some stew for her, " he said without missing a beat. "I figured it would help with that cold of hers, and it's too heavy to carry all the way. Now, why don't we get going, Haibara-san?"

Haibara breathed deeply and gave up on tormenting her favorite jacket. She was just edgy because of what the detective told her last night. It was nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about. Hadn't she decided to at least trust Subaru?

* * *

"The light in the office is on," Subaru pointed out. He carefully set down the steaming pot of stew he was carrying by the door. Haibara nodded silently and moved to open it. The man stopped her hand. "I think it's better if I go in first."

Haibara stepped back reluctantly. "Be my guest."

Subaru placed his hand on the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Haibara peeked inside. "There doesn't seem to be anyone..."

The engineering student opened the door all the way.

"Ouch!" The girl tilted her bruised head a fraction back. "Wait, Subaru-san? Haibara? What are you doing here?"

The scientist looked down at the detective brat. "I could ask the same of you. What are you doing on the floor?"

"Sleeping, what else?" she grumbled, as she picked herself up. Christi winced as she gingerly touched her head. "What are you two doing here? I just solved a-"

Her eyes widened. She fumbled as she tried to hide her notes on the desk. "I mean! I just finished dinner, and-"

"That's a shame. I brought you some stew. I figured it would help cure your cold," Subaru interrupted.

"And I brought you some things from Professor Agasa," the brown haired girl said. She casually tossed the folder on top of the papers on the desk.

"T-thank you. Um, Subaru-san, if you could put the stew in the kitchen?" The man retrieved the pot from outside the door and headed to the kitchen. Once he was out of sight, Christi whispered, "I didn't know you were on such good terms with Subaru-san."

Haibara said nothing and instead lifted the folder to take a peek at the papers underneath. "Did you stop the fire?"

"Yeah. The police arrived at the site just in time. Apparently, the code wasn't a play with the words, it was in the paper itself. Once they scanned the paper, the _real_ message- Hey, you changed the subject!"

"I just wanted to make sure he wouldn't do anything to you."

"Come on, Haibara-san, it's not like I'm some sort of pedophile." Haibara glared at Subaru out of the corner of her eye. How much did he hear? "Now, Christi-chan, I heard that you'll be alone for the night? Why don't you come back with Haibara-chan and I?"

The brown haired girl moved instinctively behind Christi. "If you don't mind, I'll stay here with Edogawa-chan."

Subaru shrugged. "Okay. I'll tell the professor. But make sure Christi-chan doesn't stay up too late, else her fever worsen." He began to walk out. "And, Christi-chan?"

"Yes?"

"You can return the pot any time." He closed the door behind him.

"It's my pot anyway," she muttered absently. Christi opened the folder on the desk the moment he was out of sight, but Haibara waited until she heard him drive away.

Christi squinted as she flipped through the pages. "What's that old man think he's doing, sending me pictures of KID? How did he get them, anyway? They're too close up for any camera crew."

Haibara poked her head out the office door. "He wanted to show off, I guess."

The detective carefully scrutinized the pictures. One of them had a blur of black and white in the corner. "The glasses? He used the camera on it, didn't he?"

"Bingo." Satisfied that there wasn't anyone outside, Haibara closed the door and locked it. "There's a new feature now. It's connected through radio waves to your belt. Every time you release a soccer ball, your glasses take a picture. He modified them the last time you came over. He even raised the battery capacity of your glasses."

Christi nodded thoughtfully. then gestured to the brown folder. "You know, I realized this long ago, but never really told anyone. If I were still 17, I could probably put on a KID suit and I'd look just like him."

"In addition, anyone could look like you given they have the resources and the motive."

The miniature detective took a breath. "It wasn't them."

"I find it strange that you're running from this."

The girl closed the folder and faced Haibara. "I'm not running. It wasn't them."

Haibara ignored her. "You know, I had good news for you last night, but saying it now will just make things worse."

"It wasn't them," Christi insisted. "That woman, 'Chikage', she wore no mask."

Haibara stared hard at her. "Are you trying to prove them innocent? Maybe I shouldn't have come over now. You appear to still be under the effects of your cold."

Christi gazed coolly back at Haibara, trying not to let the girl get to her. "Haibara, I'm fine. I'm thinking straight. You said that you trusted my intuition. Well, it's saying that those two that I met were not part of the Black Organization."

They had a silent staring contest. Finally, Haibara closed her eyes and relaxed her shoulders. She let out a deep breath like she'd been holding it for the whole day.

"I'm sorry. I believe you. I just needed to be sure. If they knew, it would be bad timing."

Christi's eyes lit up. "You-"

Haibara gave a modest smile, in contrast to all the glaring she had been doing for the past hour. "If it doesn't work this time, I know exactly what to fix. At any rate, let's clear your hectic schedule for about three days, shall we?"

* * *

Weird? No, too negative. Strange? Nah, it's the same. Peculiar? Still too strong. Hm, "unnatural" isn't right either. Neither is "uncanny".

 _Odd._

Kaito rolled the marbles in his hands. Every time he began to plan for his next heist, Tantei-kun would pop into his mind, and until he sat down for an hour or two, he couldn't think of anything else. The child just seemed too intelligent and too mature for her own age. She was even smarter than those officers Inspector Nakamori would send after him. Granted, the taskforce wasn't very smart, but still. Besides, what kind of person would give a _kid_ tranquilizer darts, and shoes that could make soccer balls want to take his head off?

 _Christi Edogawa._

The small glass balls slipped from his fingers and clattered noisily on the floor. It was no wonder that he was fascinated, charmed, and maybe even a little scared of the girl. She was just like Hakuba, except maybe a little smarter.

He frowned as the marbles rolled to various nooks and crannies in his room. Tantei-kun's appearance the other night startled him (though he figured that she probaby wasn't there because of him). His mother left him speechless as she sidled up to the small detective and began conversing naturally with her and spouting things that he was _sure_ she didn't know about.

And another thing... An _attempted murder_ had happened. Sure, nobody actually died, but the fact that it was even _attempted_ was unsettling. When he was around, nothing like was supposed to happen. _Correction,_ he thought grimly. _Only during KID's heists. I was just plain magician-in-training Kaito Kuroba._

Well, that Kaito was so frustrated and shocked, that he had sneaked under the table closest to the crime scene to listen in to the "Great Detective Mouri Kogoro" give his deduction. Kaito just had to know what kind of person would dare try to kill.

He was so focused on eavesdropping that he noticed late that there was someone else under the table with him. He almost shrieked because the presence was small, warm, and too intimidating for his liking. Luckily, he managed to save face and only yelped a little.

It was his Tantei-kun. He resisted the urge to scream and bolt. Thinking back, he didn't really remember their conversation...

Kaito's eyes widened and he hastily got up. "Mom?" he yelled. "Did you happen to hear my conversation with Tantei-kun?"

"No," she hollered back. "Why?"

He hesiteted, doubting his own memory. "I might have said something I shouldn't..."

* * *

 **To mjclark: My friend, _this_ is the 'next chapter'. Sorry for the misunderstanding, but I thought I'd made myself clear back there.**

 **Question #1 : What do you guys think Shinichi's ringtone would be? I think it's getting a bit boring having to say, "her phone rang", or "her phone's jingle startled her", or "she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket"** **.**

 **In any case, please review! Feel free to criticize my work, say, if I've made a grammatical error, or the like. I accept requests, or suggestions for KID's heists.**

 **I'm sorry for not updating frequently! I take a long time in editing. Perhaps this is also because I lack the motivation to go on. I'm considering hiring a cheering squad...**

 **-Spicy and Poisonous**


	5. Velvet Lips And The Eyes To Pull Me In

Christi glanced at the clock. It was nearly 2 o'clock. Her call with Haibara seemed so long ago. How long had she been sitting there, staring at nothing? She rolled her shoulders and decided that she probably wouldn't be getting any sleep that night. Cautiously, she stood and silently crept out of Ran's room. The room used to be Kogoro's, but ever since Christi moved in, they exchanged rooms so that she could have someplace less cramped to sleep.

She rummaged through the fridge, looking for a midnight snack. She found a bar of dark chocolate, and checked the expiration date at the back. The little detective clamped the book she brought with her between one of her arms and her torso and began unwrapping the treat.

 _ **FIND ME**_.

Christi dropped her chocolate and the book. She stared as the fridge slowly swung closed. Her mouth hung open as she tried to speak.

"W-who-?" Christi asked the empty room. She waited for the voice to speak again, but the only thing she heard was the gentle hum of the fridge.

This counted as the second time she heard it. The first time was during KID's most recent heist. It had helpfully suggested that she should cover herself the moment the thief appeared, and that the person dressed in a plain grey hoodie behind her might be him.

Instinctively, Christi turned and met intelligent deep blue eyes that were almost violet.

A look of surprise flashed for a moment in KID's face, but he recovered quickly and gave her a mischievous smile. He tugged his hood over his eyes, breaking the eye contact and slipped into the shadows. He gave her no time to figure out where the voice came from, and how it knew of KID's whereabouts.

Christi would never admit it to anyone, but she found KID's magic show so hilarious that the mystery of the voice was pushed to the back of her mind.

And now it was back. Karma, she supposed.

The girl shivered. She quickly ruled out spirits or otherworldly beings. Those kinds of things couldn't and didn't exist.

"Christi-chan! What are you doing up so late?"

Christi turned, her heart racing. "R-Ran-neechan! I didn't hear you come in."

The teen had her hands on her hips. _Strange,_ Christi thought hazily. She was pretty sure Ran didn't go to sleep with those pajamas.

The small detective watched as Ran picked up the chocolate and book. "You shouldn't be reading these books, Christi-chan," she admonished, scanning the back cover. "These aren't for kids, you know."

Christi twiddled her thumbs and lowered her head in a childish, apologetic gesture. "I'm sorry, Ran-neechan." After some hesitation, she to add a bit of cute. "But, I promise to not ever, ever, ever do it again!"

Ran smiled gently and patted her head. "Aw, I'm sure you won't. Now come along, and let's go back to sleep." Ran took a big bite out of the chocolate and grimaced.

"Blechk!" She swallowed with much difficulty and stuck out her tongue. "That wasn't chocolate! Did you pick that fresh from the tree? Ugh, that's nasty!"

Christi stared in disbelief. That wasn't Ran's voice, it was... "KID?"

Not-Ran froze, then grinned gleefully. "Aw, I was found out so quickly. Sorry, I guess that one was my fault."

Christi tensed her shoulders. It couldn't be a coincidence that the voice appeared every time the phantom thief was around, right?

"Was that you?"

The thief looked at her curiously. "Me?"

The girl relaxed. "... Never mind."

KID laughed. "You're confusing."

She looked sharply at him. "And what are you doing here, Mr. Phantom Thief?"

KID tossed her the chocolate bar, but not before slapping a note on the wrapper. "Inviting you to my next heist. You were absent until the most recent one, and things were getting real boring. I want to make sure you can go to the next one."

The detective raised an eyebrow. "I'll see if I can go. Where will it be?"

KID started to say something, then thought better of it, and smiled instead. "Naughty, sneaky Tantei-kun. You'll have to figure it out on your own."

She frowned up at him. "Could you not speak in your voice with Ran's face? It's extremely unsettling."

He pouted a little, but his eyes sparkled with laughter. He really did have nice eyes, Christi noted. KID pulled out a white silk hat from out of thin air and brought out his mantle with flourish. When Christi could see him again, he was back in his trademark suit.

"Better?"

"Not that much. Perhaps if you take off the hat and monocole," she suggested dryly.

"You're not fair, Tantei-kun." She blinked at him.

"How so?"

"You never act your age when you're around me. You're always serious when you talk to me, but once your sister strikes up a conversation with you, your voice goes up." He mimicked her voice at that last part and crossed his arms.

"She's not my sister."

"She- wha-?" Christi took the time to enjoy the confused look on his face. She loved the fact that she could get him to drop his cool, collected demeanor. "So... you aren't adopted, then? A cousin?"

The detective shook her head. "My parents left me in the Mouri's care. I'm just staying here until they come back."

KID frowned. "But I always thought you were somehow related. You two are really close, like you've known each other for years."

Christi shrugged. "Why do you care, anyway? I don't see how this information helps you."

The thief feigned hurt and placed a hand over his heart. "Why, of course I care! You're very interesting, Tantei-kun, for such a small child."

Christi snorted and walked back to the fridge. "And you're exasperating, creepy, and obnoxious for such an old person."

He watched as she returned the disgusting bar of candy that didn't deserve to call itself chocolate. "I like to think of myself as handsome, daring, and quick-witted. And I'm not old!" KID exclaimed indignantly.

The miniature detective strained to reach a can of coffee. "I'm just a small child," she said sarcastically, stretching her arm. " _Everyone_ looks old to me."

A gloved hand plucked the can delicately from the shelf. "Hey!" Christi protested.

KID tossed the coffee in the air and caught it on its way back down. "Naughty child. Coffee is for grown-ups. You're just a little girl, remember? You should be asleep at this late hour."

"I'm not who you think I am," she seethed. "I don't need to sleep if I don't want to. And give that back, I need the caffeine!"

The phantom lowered his arm. Christi snatched the can and cradled it possesively. Iced coffee would still always be her favorite beverage. There was no way she would let some stupid thief rob her of her stress-reliever.

KID stared at the girl. "Who are you, then?"

"I- what?"

"You aren't who I think you are, you said. Who are you, then?" he repeated, his tone curious.

Christi snorted, but refused to meet his eyes. "I wasn't serious when I said that."

"You're lying~" he sang gleefully.

"Ugh! Don't you have somewhere else to be annoying?!"

KID checked his watch. "Not until 6."

A smile tugged at the little girl's lips. She brought the can to her lips in an effort to hide it . "Don't you ever sleep?"

He sat at the kitchen table and put his head on the cool wood. His top hat threatened to tip over. "I could sleep here," he suggested.

"Don't do that. Just- get out, will you? You delivered your message well over 10 minutes ago."

"Meanie," he whined.

Christi narrowed her eyes. "Everything has a reason. You should have one, too, considering you're staying here for an extended, uncomfortable amount of time."

His stupid, grinning face filled her line of sight. "I make you uncomfortable, Tantei-kun?"

The detective desperately covered her blush with an irate look and pushed KID away.

"You aren't trying to capture me," KID noted. "Do you like me that much?"

Christi wordlessly tossed the now empty can in the garbage bin and headed towards the door. "I'm unarmed," she said bluntly. "All my things are in Ran's room, and I don't want to wake her up."

"Oh, so now, you're going to sleep."

"No," she called over her shoulder. "I'm just going somewhere you're not."

As soon as her ponytail disappeared, KID vanished in a shower of sparks. His little detective was fine. He had nothing to worry about.

* * *

Kaito looked up as a shadow loomed ominously over him. "Hakuba-kun! What a pleasant surprise so early in the morning! Nice fashion statement, by the way. What inspired it?"

The blond detective glowered. "I wouldn't say 'inspired'."

Kaito scrutinized the detective. "A homeless person, perhaps? I mean, really, beanie, trench coat, gloves... What happened to school regulations?"

Hakuba leaned in his face. Kaito didn't flinch. "You shaved half of my hair off and left the rest glued to a pink and purple wig. Then you painted my nails _terribly_ with the most horrendous color combination. Then you had to- you just _had_ to steal all my clothes and glue me inside this, this _hideous_ outfit! Do you really not want me at your heist that badly?!"

Kaito raised an eyebrow and looked puzzledly at the blond detective. "Hakuba-kun, I don't know how many times I have to say this, but, sadly," he sighed wistfully, "I'm not KID."

The Brit stood up straight and looked the messy-haired teen in the eye. "I don't know why you even bother. You should know by now that _nothing_ you say will ever convince me."

The magician gave a half grin as their classmates began filtering into the room. "Not even that the back of your coat is torn in half?"

The detective panicked, and quickly gave himself a pat-down. "Why you- you didn't do anything!"

"But you looked, KID the Phantom Thief," Kaito said, emphasizing each syllable. "And that's all that matters."

Hakuba's face turned red. "Argh! I can't take you anymore!" He turned around and stomped his way out of the school.

A mop crash landed in Kaito's face. "BAKAITO! Always, always, picking on Hakuba-kun!" Aoko apparently decided to be earlier than usual today.

Kaito shoved the offending cleaning utensil out of his mouth and stuck his tongue out. "He forgot his bag. Hey, Ahoko, could you take it to his house after school?"

"Take it to him... yourself!" The mop was swung again.

* * *

Haibara looked around the hotel room once more. "Are you sure you'll be fine by yourself?"

Shinichi made a shooing gesture from her place by the window. "Yes, yes. Run along, little girl."

The strawberry-haired girl harrumphed. "Don't get all cocky just because you're Shinichi again. This isn't the final antidote. It'ss not permanent, although it will last longer than any of the antidotes I've made thus far. You can leave the hotel given you're wearing your disguise, and only while it's still light outside. Don't draw attention to yourself, and _don't_ run into any murders." Haibara paused. "Did you hear me?"

"I can't make any promises," Shinichi muttered.

The scientist rubbed her forehead. "Don't solve any, then. I'm really reluctant on leaving you alone, but this place is just the right distance from Beika."

"I know that."

"Don't eat too much, but don't just drink coffee."

"Okay."

"Don't splurge."

"I never do."

The de-aged teen lingered at the door. She turned around again. "If you think you're turning back, call me right away."

"Yes, mother."

Haibara sighed and finally left the detective to her own thoughts. If Shinichi was this moody from just this antidote, she wondered how much more she would have to put up with once she actually finished the final one.

Haibara shut the door softly. A _click_ indicated that the lock had automatically activated.

Shinichi gingerly touched her face, then winced. It hurt just to move. The transformation from Christi to herself again used to take only 10 to 15 minutes, but this time, the pain went on for almost an hour. Haibara, with the help of the professor, shooed Subaru away from the house to give Shinichi some space.

Shinichi rubbed her throat absently. She didn't know she could scream that loudly. Or for such an extended period of time.

* * *

Kaito pedaled slowly, taking his time to look around. _Candy, candy, candy,_ he mused. If Tantei-kun didn't like sweets, he's give her sweets, and the type that was extra gooey and sticky. The thought of the irritated look on her face lifted his spirits a little. _Hakuba should be grateful_ , he thought giddily. After all, he was sparing the blond detective from having to wash gunk out of his clothes. He gained some speed and spun around the corner.

The last thing he remembered before crashing were the pretty ocean-blue eyes that mirrored the surprise and horror he felt.

"Ow. Ow. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. Everything hurts. Ouuuuchhh."

"That's _my_ line," the girl groaned in response.

"Oh, man, I hope I didn't break anything..." the teenager opened his eyes. He was on something really soft. Whatever it was, it smelled nice, like old books.

"I think you broke my stomach, you idiot," the girl snapped. She had taken the brunt of the fall, but any pain she felt had already begun to fade to a dull throb.

"Sorry!" the teen exclaimed. He had apparently planted his face in her stomach, successfully knocking the wind out of her. It was a miracle she was still conscious. The male tried to get up, but he fell back down.

"Oof! Ouch, could you stop doing that?"

"I'm sorry!" he apologized again. "But If you could take your legs out of my bike, I guarantee it won't happen again."

The girl groaned again and carefully disentangled her legs. They got caught in the bike's chain, and it didn't look fun. The girl didn't appear to be in pain, though. The male stood, righted his bike, and offered a hand to the girl still on the ground.

"Thanks," she grunted, and accepted the hand. They dusted themselves off then stared at each other. But it was more of the male doing the staring. The girl was dressed strangely, he noted. She was bundled up in clothes too warm for the weather and presumably had her hair tucked into the cap she was wearing. Her clothes looked more like they should be on _him_ than on a girl. The only thing that made him sure she was actually a girl was her... chest area, her voice, and those gorgeous eyes he had caught a glimpse of earlier. She looked to be around his age, or perhaps even younger.

"Listen, I'm really sorry I ran into you. I should've been paying attention," he tried.

The girl shuffled her feet like she was itching to get away. "S'okay," she mumbled. "It was sort of my fault, too."

"I'll treat you to something," he offered, "To make up for it."

She glanced up at him, and his heart skipped a beat as he saw those blue eyes flash at him again. There was just something so _alluring_ about her eyes. Then she looked down again, tugged her cap even lower over her face, and the feeling disappeared. "N-no, I really should be going."

She turned to leave, but he caught her arm. He felt like he would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn't look her in the eyes properly. "Come on," he said gently. "I'm a gentleman, and I insist that a lady like you be treated right."

She stiffened at one of his words, but seemed to be genuinely considering his offer. "Alright," she finally said. "But only if you tell me your name." Something about her tone of voice made the male rethink giving out a pseudonym.

"Kuroba," he said, and did a sweeping bow. "Kuroba Kaito, at your service."

* * *

"This is... a nice cafe," the girl said as she sat herself down at the booth. Kaito sat across from her and raised his hand to call a waiter.

"It's one of my favorite places. My friends and I usually eat here."

The girl nodded politely. "Do you live here?"

Kaito managed to catch the attention of a waiter, and he lowered his hand. "Around the area. I also go to school here. But enough about me. I don't even know your name, fair lady."

"You aren't to tell anyone," the girl said suddenly.

"What?" Kaito asked, but was interrupted by a waiter.

"May I take your order?"

The two listed off what they wanted. Kaito noted that the girl asked for iced black coffee and a sandwich. He himself ordered the new addition to the menu, strawberry ice cream with an extra helping of sprinkles.

"So, what am I not supposed to tell anyone?" Kaito repeated, after the waiter had gone.

The mysterious girl reached for the brim of her cap, then hesitated. Her hand lowered. "That I've been here. You have to keep this a secret. I think I can trust you. You look like the type who has some secrets of his own."

Kaito's poker face broke for a split second, but he regained his composure. _This girl_ , he thought nervously.

The girl reached out again, but this time for his face. They both watched her hand hover a good ten inches from his nose.

"Uh, I know this may sound weird, but may I have your permission to pinch your cheek?"

Kaito almost said yes immediately, but reminded himself of where he was just in time. As such, he asked why the girl would want to do such a thing.

She drew her hand back a little and shifted in her seat. The girl looked around furtively. "To- to make sure," she allowed, hoping that Kaito would get the message.

Not exactly an answer, but it sufficed. He turned his cheek slightly towards her. He would have blushed the moment her slender fingers touched his skin, but he had enough practice with his poker face to keep his composure. The girl tugged gently at his cheeks, and sighed in relief when nothing happened.

"Kuroba-san-" she started.

"Please, call me Kaito." The words just came out of his mouth. He should have been wary. This girl knew more about him than he did of her. Bt he couldn't help it. She was so familiar, yet Kaito knew he never saw her before today.

The girl cleared her thoat. "Kaito, don't freak out, alright?"

She looked around one more time, and took her cap off. Dark brown, shoulder length hair tumbled out, and with one hand, she quickly smoothed out the more obvious tangles. Much to Kaito's amusement, a lock of hair stubbornly stood up straight. The girl grimaced at it, but left it alone.

The main attraction was her face.

Their waiter arrived with their orders. He set them down carefully and hurried off, but not before throwing a strange look at the girl's direction.

Kaito leaned so forward that his uniform got stained with the ice cream he ordered. "You're-!"

"Not too loud!" the girl hissed. "I'm-"

"You're a female version of me!" Kaito said in a lowered tone, eyes wide.

Female-Kaito looked at him queerly. "Well, I look exactly like you, if that's what you mean."

Kaito sat down properly. "No, no, I mean you're girl-me! You're me, but you must have come from an alternate universe, so you're female! Wow, this is so weird!"

Her lips twitched. "No! I'm- what? Where did you even- "

"Hey, how did you get here?" Kaito asked excitedly. "Was it some sort of portal?"

Female-Kaito seemed to be at a loss for words. "I took the bus?"

Kaito gasped. "Was it a _magic_ bus?"

"No!" she exclaimed helplessly.

Kaito scooped up some ice cream that was more sprinkles than ice cream and chewed thoughtfully. Female-Kaito opened her mouth to say something, assuming that Kaito had finally calmed down.

"You remind me a bit of Hakuba," he said, pointing with his spoon.

She blinked. "You know Hakuba?"

"Yeah. He's my classmate," Kaito said dismissively. He watched the girl sip at her coffee. "But who knew I was so hot as a girl?"

Female-Kaito flushed and set down her cup. "Do you really not know who I am?"

Kaito started polishing off his bowl. "You'd think the confused looks and absurd speculations would have answered that for you."

She raised an eyebrow at him quizically. Her eyes were clear and sharp, as if water managed to take the form of a knife. There was intelligence hidden in the depths of her eyes, but there was also a slight trace of concealed darkness Kaito couldn't understand.

"I'm Kudo Shinichi. I'm a detective."

 _Beautiful._

* * *

 **O_o**

 **I think that face expresses my feelings accurately enough. Anyhow, please review!**

 **Wow. Just realized how I never mentioned that I made Christi wear her hair in a ponytail. Well.**

 **(Me to Cheering Squad : When I say Spicy, you say Poisonous!**

 **Me : Spicy!**

 **CS : ...**

 **Me : Spicy!**

 **CS : ...**

 **Me : Oh, come on, I gave you the easy part!)**

 **-Just Spicy**


	6. All The Possibilities, Well I Was Wrong

**AhahahahahaI'msosorrythisislateIwasprocrastinatingImeancleaningthehouseandalsoreadingDepravityFallsficsandagain,Iprofuselyaplogize,thelackofreviewswassomewhatdissuading.**

* * *

This was fine. He'd been in several worse situations before. Right?

Kaito mentally ticked off his run-ins with Tantei-kun, the blond bas- Hakuba, the self-proclaimed witch, plus several close calls with Aoko. And all those dangerous situations with Snake and flying pieces of metal aimed for his very needed heart. Yes. He'd definitely been through worse.

The detective leaned forward in her seat and stirred her coffee. "So, you're speechless, huh? That reaction _is_ better than jumping suddenly and screaming my name."

He opened his mouth to retort and save face, but changed his mind and quickly shut it. He was professional enough to know that slipping up would be the death of him.

What did he have under Shinichi Kudo, anyway? Not much, considering he'd caught a mere glimpse of the detective, and hadn't quite bothered to poke his nose about the subject. A mistake, apparently. He liked it when he had more information on the enemy than they did of him. Besides, the boy seemed to have disappeared shortly afterwards, causing Kaito to lose interest in him. Kaito's mind reeled in brief confusion. Something didn't quite add up here.

"Are you, by any chance," here he lowered his voice, "a transvestite?"

He couldn't read her expression as she eyeballed him. Ha. And he thought _he_ had a good poker face.

"What, exactly, have you heard of me?" the detective asked, her voice calm and quiet. She didn't break eye contact. Dangerous. Dangerous, not beautiful. He took back everything he thought of earlier.

"I, well, caught glimpses of a few pictures on the news. You were wearing the male uniform for Teitan High School and had your hair cut short, so I just thought..." his voice faltered. "Are you laughing?"

The detective was indeed laughing. She had both hands clamped over her mouth in an effort to suppress her laughter. "Wait, I'm terribly sorry, but, pffft..." She broke into a fit of giggles. After a while, she gasped and calmed down. She still had a silly grin on her face that rivaled his own. "If you would forget that ever happened... That was unprecedented. My laugh is terrible," she explained.

"Ah, no, I found your laugh quite charming," he replied smoothly.

She snorted. "I see you're a ladies' man, Kuroba-kun."

"I don't see you complaining," he smirked. "But anyway, why did you wear a male uniform?"

The detective smiled sheepishly. "Ah, that was a running joke between my dad and I. He told me that if I could fool the media into thinking I was male, he'd give me something really valuable. I wasn't interseted in whatever he intended to give me, but I like pranks. Besides, skirts are hard to run in."

"You don't even know half of it. Slinky dresses are the worst."

"I'm not sure if I should take that seriously."

"Perhaps you should."

"Okay then, Kuroba-kun. Are you, by any chance, a transvestite?"

Kaito laughed. "No, but I'm a magician."

"I wasn't aware that being a magician required you to wear revealing dresses."

Kaito smiled playfully and launched into a full explanation of exactly why magicians needed to cross-dress. From there, their conversation went to Hakuba (Kaito apologized for comparing the detective to the blond), and to what Kaito jokingly called "detective-y things". The detective, however, clearly didn't want to talk about the cases she'd worked on. When Kaito tried to ask her about _her_ life, she gave short replies and refused to share important details, like what her favorite color was, or what she was doing in Ekoda in the first place. In fact, she refrained from talking about herself at all. Which Kaito found unfair, but didn't question.

They exchanged phone numbers, and ordered waffles. Kaito was nearly certain now, the detective didn't think he was KID. She was merely being over-cautious. For what reason, Kaito wasn't sure. The detective wouldn't say.

He told her that she was the first girl to insistently call him by his last name, to wich she dryly replied that she must be the smartest girl around for doing that.

The detective glanced out the window then very briefly at her watch. "It's dark already? Shoot, she'll kill me." She faced Kaito. "I'm sorry, Kuroba-kun, but I'll have to cut our..."

"Date?" Kaito suggested, waggling his eyebrows. She shot him a look.

"I was going to say something like, 'unfortunate encounter'. In any case, I'll be going now. Well, if you'll excuse me." She stood abruptly and tossed some money on the table. She dipped her head in Kaito's direction. "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kuroba-kun."

He winked. "It was a pleasure crashing into you with my bike, Miss Detective."

Her eyes met his and she flashed him a small smile. Then she was gone.

Kaito wouldn't meet her again for at least two months.

* * *

 _17:23_

Shinichi dashed up the stairs. The elevator was faster, but it also had a security camera.

 _Please don't be there, please don't be there,_ she chanted over and over in her head as she shoved the key in the lock and opened the door.

"Too bad, I'm here." Oh, that sarcastic little voice.

"What, can you read minds now, too?"

A small index finger pointed at her nose. "It's written all over your face, you dope. I told you to be back _before_ 5."

"You told me to be out as long as it's still light outside." Shinichi closed the door behind her and flopped on the bed. Haibara sat on the edge of the mattress and stared condescendingly at her.

"Does it look like it's still light outside?"

The detective didn't answer.

"What were you doing, anyway? I hope you made sure no one was following you."

Shinichi rolled her eyes. "What do you take me for, an idiot?"

"Yes."

She threw a pillow at the girl. "Just get on with your check-up thing."

The pillow caught the strawberry-blonde girl in the face. "Okay. Take your pants off."

"What?" Shinichi twisted around to get a good look at the miniature scientist's face.

"Take your pants off," Haibara repeated.

"Is this a check-up?" Shinichi asked. "Because I'm pretty sure you don't need my pants to be off."

"You're injured. Take them off."

She made a snide comment about freaky demons and their ability to read minds and see through clothes, but discarded her pants anyway. Shinichi stared at her blood-encrusted knees and scratched shins.

Haibara poked her leg pointedly. "How are you so dense as to not notice that you're wounded?"

Shinichi made a face. "But it doesn't hurt," she protested. "I thought it was just a scratch."

Haibara brought out a first aid kit. "Then it's probably not that serious. Where did you go? I hope you followed the rest of my instructions, at the very least."

"I didn't talk to anyone, if that's what you mean," Shinichi said. "I sort of fell down in the street, but it didn't hurt, so I didn't bother to check."

Haibara clicked her tongue. "Perhaps the antidote has a symptom; one that numbs the sense of pain," she suggested.

Shinichi shrugged and watched the scientist clean her knees. "Who brought you here?"

The miniature scientist slapped a patch of gauze over a particularly long scratch. "Subaru-san."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "I see. And where is he now?"

"Waiting downstairs. Didn't you see him?" Haibara checked her pulse and scribbled something down in her notebook.

"Ah, I took the fire escape."

The scientist nodded and handed the teen a thermometer. "What time did you take it?"

Shinichi checked her watch. "Around four twenty, I think. It's seventeen forty-seven now."

Her phone buzzed as she stuck the glass tube in her mouth. Haibara finished with her check-up while she scrolled through her messages.

"'ey 'aibara, 'eck 'is out." The detective handed her the phone.

The scientist skimmed through the message and gave the phone back with an unimpressed look on her face. "What do I have to do with a book in a hidden room in your library?"

Shinichi waved the phone around. "Well, if you can find the room before midnight tomorrow, I'll give you a present."

Haibara turned to face her fully. "What will you get me?"

The teenager puffed her chest out. "Anything you want. I'm feeling generous."

"Oh? Well, I'll take you up on that offer." She stuck out her hand, but pulled it away before they could shake on it. "And if I don't find the room before the deadline?"

A smile dangled on the corner of the detective's lips. "Well, suspense is part of the fun, isn't it?"

* * *

"Hakuba-kun," Kaito whined. "Why are you ignoring me?"

The blond huffed and refused to look at Kaito.

"That's because you went overboard with your prank yesterday," Aoko accused.

"But Aoko, it was just a joke! He got it off in the end right? _And_ in one piece, too!"

The girl placed her hands on her hips. "When I went over to Saguru-kun's house to give him his bag, I found him- "

Hakuba held his hand up. "Aoko, please. It's alright."

"See, Kaito! You have to apologize to Saguru-kun, right now!"

"Aoko? Since when did you call Hakuba by his first name?"

"Don't change the subject, Kaito! Aoko hates it when my friends fight, so you have to make up."

"Aoko..."

Kaito wished nothing more than to wipe the smug look off Hakuba's face. "I'm truly sorry, Hakuba-kun."

Aoko looked at him threateningly, detecting the slight traces of sarcasm in his voice.

"I'm really sorry, I swear!"

Satisfied, the girl left the two boys alone.

"She helped me with the little present you left me," the blond explained.

"Is that why you smell like..." -he leaned in to take a whiff- "Ginger ale and sour cream?"

"I have to say, Kaito, I'm a little impressed. How did you make it so that it felt like half of my hair was shaved off?" Hakuba folded his hands and looked at the magician with some respect. "I mean, I don't fancy being pranked _at all_ , but it's astounding how you made it feel so real."

"Hakuba-kun! You flatter me! But I only used half of my abilities," Kaito replied, shaking his head. "Perhaps you're just slow in noticing those kinds of things, Hakuba-kun."

Hakuba pressed his lips together. "Never mind I said anything."

Kaito laughed giddily, but stopped abruptly, putting on the most serious face he could muster. "Hakuba-kun, do you know a detective named Shinichi Kudo?"

"Hm? Kudo? That other high school detective? Sure, I know him. Only by name and reputation though; I've never met him in person."

That was funny. He could've sworn that the blue-eyed detective mentioned she'd already met Hakuba.

"Come to think of it," Hakuba said thoughtfully, "he looks almost exactly like you. Wait a second! I know what you're getting at!"

Kaito grinned. "No, you don't."

The blond looked at him suspiciously. "You'd better not use that guy's face at your heists. If he shows up, I'll know that it's _you_."

"I'm not KID!" Kaito exclaimed indignantly. "How many times do I have to say that?"

"You _are_ KID!" Hakuba said. "I just don't have enough proof!"

Kaito frowned. "And how will you know that it isn't really Shinichi Kudo, anyway?"

Hakuba hesitated. "That detective's been missing for nearly two years. Sometimes he pops up, but he always communicates through phone. No one's actually seen him for the longest time. And according to Inspector Megure, everytime he solves a case, he asks not to be mentioned in the newspapers."

"Many say he's dead." Akako appeared behind Hakuba and placed a hand on the back of his chair. Said victim stiffened and looked down as his face erupted in red. "They say that he chewed more than he could swallow and passed away horribly. They say someone he had arrested flew the coop and murdered him. Rumor has it that the one solving all those cases is an impostor. Some fan trying to keep up his name."

"I-indeed," Hakuba stuttered. "K-Kaito, why are you asking about him?"

Kaito smirked. "No reason. I just overheard someone talking about 'him'."

Hakuba groaned, the blush on his face still apparent. "I knew it. But it's futile, Kaito. Kudo won't even consider going to one of your silly heists."

The magician gave one of his infamous unreadable faces then slipped back to his seat. Akako stopped at his desk on the way back to hers.

"Well, _I_ know that 'he' is really a 'she'."

"Did you ask Lucifer for something as trivial as that?" Kaito asked casually.

The witch's eyes flashed. "Shinchi Kudo is no small matter. Remember that."

* * *

 _Kaito Kuroba, please report to the principal's office immediately,_ a voice blared over the P.A. system. _Again, Kaito Kuroba, please report to the principal's office immediately._

His teacher and classmates gaped at him. Kaito _never_ got called to the principal's office; no matter how outrageous the prank was. What could he have possibly done?

The magician stood as if he'd been expecting this. He had a smug look plastered on his face like being summoned by the principal was a great honor. No one spoke as they watched him strut like a peacock out of the room.

"That guy is a complete idiot," Hakuba said. Aoko nodded vigorously in response.

Kaito knocked on the office door. He spent nearly half of his first year in here, but this was the first time this school year he had been called, He couldn't help but wonder what he had done, since his most recent classroom prank had gone unheeded by the faculty, and Hakuba wasn't the type to rat out on him.

He entered when he was bidden to do so. His confident stance faltered as the magician gazed in perplexion at the couple sitting at the principal's desk.

"FBI?"

* * *

At precisely 5:41 the next morning, Shinichi reverted to Christi Edogawa.

"It's been longer than 24 hours," she told Haibara. "Why?"

The miniscule scientist jotted down something in her notebook. "Don't ask me."

The now-little detective flung her arms out. "Of course I'm going to ask you; you're the one who made the antidote!"

Haibara looked up with her jaw set. "This is a... setback."

"How are you feeling?"

Christi sighed and calmed down. "Fatigued. I know I just woke up, but I feel like I just solved an exceptionally difficult case."

"Do you think you can go back to school today?" Haibara headed over to the girl to help her change.

"No," Christi replied immediately. "Maybe in the afternoon... I don't think I can put up with people today."

"What am I, then?" Haibara asked.

Christi cracked a smile. "A person?"

"Was that a question, or a statement?"

Christi grinned widely and stuffed her clothes in her backpack. "I'm pretty sure you know."

The strawberry-blonde girl brought a fist down on her head.

"Ow!"

"So," Haibara continued, like she hadn't just added to Christi's injuries, "What are you going to do if you won't go to school?"

"Sleep. In _my_ house. Then if I wake up, I'll go through that book my mom asked me to find for her."

"You aren't going to change your mind?"

"Nope," Christi said cheerfully as she slung her backpack onto her shoulder.

Haibara sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'm blaming you if I wake up trussed up like a pig next to your corpse."

The professor dropped Haibara off at the elementary school before bringing Christi to her house.

The detective rang the doorbell and climbed the fence when no one answered. She fished out her spare key and unlocked the door.

One moment she was inside the house. The next she was lying in the dirt.

* * *

Stolen from the journal of Shinichi Kudo :

 _He is either an ignorant fool of a subordinate for them, or professional enough to act like it. Looks and feels like the real deal. Impostor? Plastic surgery? Blackmail?Showed no signs of lying, but is hiding something. Am betting everything that he is not one of them. CK seems to know family and situation; an ally, perhaps? Trust KK? Follow tracker after current situation. Require more research._

 _gettare nel fuoco_

* * *

 **To trol lol lol lol : Thank you for reviewing. How am I supposed to know why a character that I made do something did it?** **I appreciate being stalked.**

 **I'm actually not sure if they use e-mail or just phone numbers in the Detective Conan universe, so I just chose one at random. Phone numbers it is. Correct me if you're certain it's not.**

 **Is Ekoda a place? I'm assuming it is. Let's say it's close to Beika, but not close enough for a short commute.**

 **If you're confused by the way I make the characters say their own name (last name first) versus how other people say their name (first name first), it's 'cause I once dreamt I had a scorpion for a teacher, and she liked spiders, but spiders didn't like her 'cause she ate them and hahahaha there's really no valid reason, I just like it like that didyouthinkIwasgoingtosaysomethingrelevant**

 **I figured that if I was going to make Shinichi know some Latin, I might as well make the detective know at least one phrase in Italian(remember one of those first few cases? the one with the Detective Boys? the one with the Italian robbers? I figured I could make the detective regret losing some time all for one word if only Shinichi knew Italian)**

 **By the way, I've also uploaded this to Archive of Our Own, but under a sort of diferrent pen name (Solanaceae_Piperita). Almost no changes were made. I update at the same pace. I am an ass.**

 **Review, please. Just, really, review. Sure, follow this and all, but please review. Or comment, whatever. My cheerleading squad didn't show up for the past few weeks.**

 **-Spicy and Poisonous**


	7. Third Time Is The Charm

**Hey, um... sup. I have no reasonable explanation as to why this took so long.**

* * *

"I'm not the worst at school, but man, is it a heck of a relief for the week to be over!" Sera Masumi stretched her arms. "We don't have any exams scheduled next week, so whaddya say we go hunting? I hear there's a new falafel place next to the mall."

"I second the motion!' Sonoko cried out gleefully. "Although I don't think our little martial artist over here is very enthusiastic about that."

Sera slung her arm around the distracted girl, causing her to yelp in surprise. "What's gotten into you, Ran? I didn't know you daydreamed outside of class!"

Ran blinked and flushed slightly. "Ah, no, it's—it's nothing, really."

"Are you thinking about the exams already?!" Sonoko said. "Those aren't for another month or so, you'll do fine! It's not like your ranking's far off from Miss-Other-High-School-Detective over here."

Sera's eyes flashed. "Biased, much? I haven't even met Kudo-san, so how am I supposed to know how good she is?"

"Speaking of that detective freak, why don't we go to her house?" Sonoko said, her eyes gleaming. "You know, see how it's been doing, check out if she's been back…"

Sera laughed. "You just wanna see Subaru-san. But sure, why not? Maybe I'll finally get to meet her."

"It's decided then! Let's go!" Sonoko marched onwards, leaving the two girls to catch up with her.

* * *

There was something very off here. Why was there a pond in the library? Subaru wiggled his fingers and decided that the pond was not water. Though it appeared clear, it was slightly thicker and stickier. The pond appeared to be plenty shallow, too. How wide was it? He couldn't see the end—

 _THUNK_.

Subaru woke with a jolt. His neck protested as she straightened up in his chair. He squinted at the carpeted floor where a glass lay next to a growing stain, then at his hand which was covered in the stuff. It took him a while to register what had happened, and when it finally hit him, he groaned. This was going to be such a pain to clean up.

On the small coffee table he was certain was completely bare before he dozed off sat his hibernating laptop, several now stained documents, and a bottle of liquor that glinted at him innocently. He glared at it accusingly. It did not respond

He stood and stretched, his head swimming. Last night was a blur, what was he doing anyway? He glanced at the clock and blanched.

2:36 pm

What in the world had possessed him to sleep for more than half a day? Well, he supposed that getting drunk would explain it… He sighed and clumsily ran his fingers through his hair and immediately regretted it, since they were still drenched in the sticky alcohol. Deciding that having a full blown hangover in the middle of the afternoon would not be fun, he stepped out of the library to go get water.

One step out of the safe haven he'd had for the past months spent in the Kudo mansion, and everything came crashing down. The back of his head smarted terribly and he had a vague feeling of being suffocated under a wet blanket. He ignored the pain and dragged himself slowly down the hallway.

For some reason, the kitchen light was on. He frowned, remembering that the last time he ventured into the kitchen was at least three days ago After all, he had been living off convenience store food, finding it too tedious to cook for himself. Ignoring the throbbing pain that rocked his head, he softened his footsteps and reached for the handgun he always kept hidden on his person. His heart raced in his half-drunken haze. What would he find around the corner? The Black Organization? Vermouth? His vision blurred and the ground rocked beneath his feet as he nearly stumbled into a glass cabinet. Dammit, he was in absolutely no state to fend for himself right now.

A half-spin around the corner and burned retinas from the searing light had him pointing his gun at the first human figure his brain registered inside the room. His finger tensed on the trigger, but before he could shoot, a terrified squeak brought him back to reality.

"Don't point that at me, holy crap!"

"Ah… it's just you, Se—" His brow furrowed and he tottered forward. "Christi," he said, lowering his gun, his hands now full out trembling. He didn't catch the flicker of surprise on the girl's face at the name he had almost called her. The scene before him swam then stabilized almost as quickly. He staggered into the kitchen and heaved himself on one of the counter chairs, across from Christi. His cheek welcomed the cool marble of the counter and he listened as his gun clunked next to the beaten book the girl was reading. "S-sorry," he said, feeling so much more sick now that the supposed danger had passed.

"Shit, I know you're hungover and all, but that was a gun you just pointed at me now, you know!" Christi's words didn't quite match her tone, or the look on her face, which was a mixture of concern and slight annoyance rather than fright. Then, with much gratefulness on his part, she offered him a glass of water, which he sloppily drained, spilling most of it on the counter and floor.

"I don't know," Christi said, staring disapprovingly at him, "but you're still scarier when you're not such a mess."

Subaru weakly set the glass down along with his head and nodded minutely. Christi took the glass and filled it again with water. "So," she said, leaning forward in what Subaru somehow mistook to be enthusiasm, "Did you get the dog before or after you got drunk and fell asleep in my second-favorite chair?"

Subaru began to raise his head before deciding it wasn't worth it. " 'Fore. Pro'lly a week 'r so," he mumbled.

Christi had decided by now that hungover Subaru, while alarming and unusual, was actually pretty amusing. "No, I think you were already drunk by then. The dog's meant to be a guard dog, I suppose?" She stole a glance at the dog slumbering carelessly at her feet. "She's not very good at her job, is she? Practically bowled me over in absolute excitement and smothered me in—in _drool_ when I opened the door."

She paused as if waiting. "What were you doing, anyway, drinking like that?"

Subaru merely groaned in response. Christi sighed and put away her book. "Geez. I'll go see if I can find something to fix that headache of yours."

After an hour and multiple trips to the bathroom, Subaru was more or less the same as usual. The dog's cheerful demeanor helped him somewhat. Christi had just slid her bag down from the counter-top when the doorbell rang and a familiar female voice called out.

"Subaru-san? Are you here? It's Ran, Sonoko, and Sera! … Subaru-san?"

Subaru turned to look at the detective, his eyes pleading for help. Christi, however, moved faster than him and was already halfway out the kitchen door. She mouthed a not-so-sorry _sorry_ , and was gone.

* * *

After another quick periphery of the Kudo mansion (this time avoiding the front road, where Kudo Shinichi's dangerous friends seemed to frequent), Kaito set to work. He slipped on some gloves and began examining the base of the metal gate, working his way upwards. The clean, rust free appearance of the gate told him it was fairly new. The flat horizontal bars of the gate were not scratched much at the ends, indicating rare usage. Kaito stepped back and stared hard through the foliage on the other side of the wall. Should he risk sticking his hand through to see if the plants were real?

Before he could decide, the bush on the other side of the gate swore and rustled. Kaito looked down into wide blue eyes.

Neither of them spoke. As Christi moved forward, Kaito resisted the urge to check his disguise. He thought he had his Akako disguise down quite well, but if there was a single slip-up, a slight mistake, Tantei-kun would be sure to see it. Heck, how was he supposed to figure he'd bump into the little detective at all? His doves told him she wasn't supposed to be back today. This wasn't even her house.

 _Wait_ , he told himself. _It's not like Tantei-kun expects KID to show up at this time of the day. I can talk myself out of this. I just found the gate fascinating as I 'happened to pass by', after all._

He considered speaking first; the dead air was almost too much to bear. But he was already caught off guard, and the fact that the little detective hadn't shifted her gaze on him did not help with his nerves.

She lifted her hand to the right and a muffled beeping sounded, presumably the lock on the gate being lifted. It slid into the wall with surprisingly little sound, and closed almost as soon as she had gone through.

"I—"

"Cool, huh?" Kaito snapped his mouth shut.

"Oh, no, it's fine," Christi said with a lazy wave of her hand. "You're not the only one who finds our gate… interesting. Several people have popped up to take a look at it, though I must say, you're the first to do it in broad daylight." She grinned slightly, her eyes taunting. "Well, I'll be going now."

Kaito kept his mouth shut even after she called over her shoulder, "And don't worry, neesan, you can't get in."

* * *

"Well, you're looking smug," a voice greeted Christi as she entered the Professor's house. "More so than usual at least."

Christi rolled her eyes. "Says the girl who seems to think she's a spoiled princess."

Haibara gave her a ghost of a smile and shut the door behind them. "I prefer the term 'queen', thank you very much."

"Oh, you're welcome," Christi replied airily.

Haibara glared. "And so? What brings you here? Did you somehow manage to solve a case in the 5 minute gap between you texting me you were coming over and now?"

"What? No, what gave you that idea? I just caught another one looking at the new security system the professor installed. It was weird, seeing as it's still pretty light outside. An amateur, maybe."

Haibara raised her eyebrows. "I hope you didn't injure them. They might've simply been impressed. The professor hasn't released that to the public yet after all. And I doubt he will, even if it could make a killing."

Christi settled down on a couch and pulled a worn book out of her school bag, which Haibara eyed. "She had gloves on, Haibara. Pretty sure she wasn't just impressed. Anyway, I didn't come over because of that. Remember that deal we made about the hidden room in my library?"

The girl glanced at a wall clock before answering. "Yes, I'd like you to ensure that your freeloader isn't present when I—"

"Sorry, Haibara, can we break it off? I can buy you whatever you want. But I'm not doing anything else," Christi added as an afterthought.

A flicker of disappointment crossed the scientist's face. "Shame. I suppose you have reasons you've no obligation to tell me."

"Oh, no, I'll tell you right now."

Haibara looked at her disbelievingly, and Christi grinned. "The hidden room has a security system of sorts that only allows family members to go through. I haven't taken a closer look at it yet, but I'll find a way to disable it. I'm not sure what'll happen if you try forcing your way in."

The scientist sat on the couch across from Christi. "Are you telling me that that musty old book you have there is important enough to keep locked up like that?"

The detective shrugged. "There was some kind of jewelry box as well, but I didn't touch it. It gave me a weird feeling."

"It gave you… a weird feeling."

"Yeah, what of it?"

Haibara looked away. "Nothing."

Christi looked at Haibara for a moment before handing her the book. "Here, it's not a book, it's actually a journal. Or a research journal. Every entry is related to one thing."

Haibara wrinkled her nose at the faint moldy smell, but in the end, she gingerly took the book and began to flip through it. The detective didn't notice the odd expression that spread across Haibara's face.

"The subject of research is mentioned in the very first passage, see? 'Pandora, a brilliant gemstone with otherworldly properties not unlike those of the mythical Philospher's Stone.'" the detective quoted. "I only skimmed through it, but the gist is that whoever wrote this is a nutcase. They said that under certain conditions, the stone will grant eternal life to whoever 'drinks the blood-red tears'. Balderdash, in my opinion, but then I realized it could all just be an elaborate code about some sort of unpublicized technology, because in some parts, it's made out as if the writer is used to utilizing it."

"A prank," Haibara said, a slight quaver in her voice. "Your parents, they like pulling pranks, right? Surely that's what this is?"

Christi hummed thoughtfully. "I've considered that, naturally, But I've already contacted my parents and they said it wasn't. Usually, they'd ignore my call if it really was a prank or a puzzle. Besides, after closer examination, I had to take their word for it."

"I—I don't believe it," Haibara murmured, gripping the book a little too tightly.

Christi glanced sideways at the scientist. "Come one, Haibara, it's not that complicated. First of all, it's a bit too elaborate to be a prank. There's serious research and encoding placed into the research journal. Plus, the book itself is around 50 years old. There's the logo of a manufacturing company embossed on the front and back cover. I did a bit of research, and it turns out, their products stopped selling a while after World War II. It's also a sewn book, and there aren't any marks indicating the strings holding it together have been replaced, so the covers couldn't have been added later. The paper is wood pulp, and not cotton paper, which means it yellows with age and exposure to air. The double width pages' creases are tearing, which explains the occasional blank pages."

Haibara remained silent throughout her explanation, and now that she had paused to take a breath, Christi noticed the girl was trembling.

"Oh, but of course you don't want to hear all that," the detective said hurriedly, slightly bewildered at Haibara's reaction. "I guess if I prod a little further, I'll be able to find the author, or crack whatever code—"

"It's fine if you leave it, isn't it?" Haibara said suddenly. She looked straight at Christi who gasped at the horror stricken look in Haibara's eyes. Her face was pallid and sweaty.

"I... Haibara, what? What are you—?"

"Isn't it?" the girl repeated, her voice shrill. "It's not like you _have_ to, you're just—just curious, right?"

"Well, yes, but—"

Still clutching the book, the girl stood, eyes wild and desperate. "Then burn this. Burn it, tear it to shreds, I don't care! Just get rid of it! Please, Ku—" Haibara stopped herself and her eyes widened. Then, before Christi could react, she hurled the book with so much force at the nearest window that it cracked and sent the book tumbling back across the floor.

Christi yelped in surprise when the scientist yanked her to the floor with her and curled up, hands clamped over her ears. "I should've known… it's bugged, it's bugged, of course it's bugged… I've put us all in danger, I'm so sorry…" Her words melted into incoherent rambling.

Eyes tight with concern, Christi shifted until she was kneeling. She reached out hesitantly, then gently shook the girl's shoulder.

"Hey, Haibara… Haibara? Calm down, okay? What's wrong?"

The strawberry blonde shook her head vigorously. "So close… so _close_ , she knows it and now they know it…"

Christi did not speak for a few moments. "Er, Haibara, I'm not sure what's going on… but you see, I examined the book earlier and I'm certain that there are no suspicious devices on it."

If the girl heard, she did not let on.

"My parents were entrusted with the book at least 9 years ago," Christi pressed. "Even if there is some sort of transmitter or receiver hidden in the book, the battery would be long dead by now."

Haibara fell silent. Slowly, very slowly, she lowered her hands and looked up at the detective. "Your parents… entrusted?"

"Yes, by an old friend," Christi said gently.

Haibara shuddered and the fear crept back into her eyes. "A friend? How—how did the friend…" Her voice trailed off uncertainly.

"They stole it," Christi said quickly, then immediately frowned in disapproval. "I asked my parents how they allowed something like that, and they said it was important. They couldn't—or wouldn't—explain _what_ was so important, but I trust them."

Some color returned to Haibara's face. "Trust them?"

"Yes," Christi said firmly. "I'm sure of it."

They locked eyes for a moment. The familiar look of steadfast conviction gazed steadily at Haibara. She looked away. "Oh… okay." All of a sudden, she gave a shaky laugh. "I—I'm sorry. I overreacted… I've been having nightmares again."

Christi frowned. "Haibara, it's okay. You don't have to talk about it right now."

The girl shook her head. "No, I owe you an explanation."

She paused, choosing her next words carefully. "That handwriting, I recognize it. Far too often I've found it ordering me or others around. I hated seeing that scrawl, telling me to do things I didn't want to do."

"You don't mean-?"

Haibara's voice went impossibly soft. "Yes… that handwriting, I don't know how, but… It's Vermouth's."

* * *

 **Amazing. Wonder how Vermouth's handwriting ended up there, hm? hahahahha I have no sense of anything :3**

 **(P.S.  
Thank you, america (and _maybe_ jamjam too but not really actually) for helping me so much on this chapter. It would've done me great if I'd found you from the start.)**

 **(P.P.S.  
I'd have said 'surprise, b*****s' at the start, but they told me that was mean)**


End file.
